Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday that he will not formally back any Republican presidential candidate ahead of Florida’s March 15 primary.
“The political class opposed me when I first ran for office, they did not want a businessman outsider, but the voters had other ideas,” the two-term Florida governor wrote on Facebook. “I believed in the voters when I first ran for office, and I still believe in them today.”
In a USA Today column published in January, Scott had all but officially endorsed front-runner Donald Trump. Rumors flew this week that Scott would make the endorsement official in the coming days, either at Trump’s Super Tuesday celebration in Palm Beach or at his upcoming Orlando rally Saturday.
The non-endorsement is likely a relief to Marco Rubio, who is trying to win his home state but trails Trump in the latest polls.
Scott’s lieutenant, Carlos Lopez-Cantera, is a close friend of Rubio’s who has received support from Florida’s Republican establishment. That support will be vital for Scott should he choose to run for U.S. Senate in 2018.
According to a RealClearPolitics average of Sunshine State polls, Trump leads Rubio by roughly 20 points.
