Rick Scott...Not exciting – just effective
Florida Senate Race: Close, Expensive, and Charisma Free Dylan Scott, Vox
Excerpt: The Florida Senate race has given Democrats plenty of reason to be nervous this year.
Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson is facing Republican Gov. Rick Scott, one of the best recruits for Republicans in the 2018 midterm elections and a wealthy candidate whose campaign is already outspending Nelson’s by a 4-to-1 margin. The two faced off in a debate on Tuesday night.
Nelson has built a reasonably strong brand, representing Florida in the Senate since 2001. Scott, meanwhile, has never won a race by more than a point in years friendlier to the GOP. But the GOP governor is still a serious threat in a state where elections are rarely decided by more than a point or two.
“With Scott, this is a guy who’s been told he can’t do something like this twice, and twice proven everybody wrong,” Schale told me. “A more conventional politician might look at national mood and think, ‘Wow, this could be really uphill.’ Scott’s view is: ‘You told me I couldn’t win the first time, and I won. Why would I listen to you now?’”
Bottom Line: The Schale referred to is Steve Schale, a Democratic strategist. That’s even more insightful in context and explains attributes that make Rick, Rick. He’s not the charismatic guy. He’s not the most attractive guy and he’s not ruffled when lefties call him Voldemort. He just gets stuff done. See here’s thing. In the article it says that Florida’s a state where elections are rarely decided by more than a point or two. That’s not really true. Here are three numbers...
- 5%
- 22%
- 13%
Know what those are? The margins Bill Nelson’s won his current Senate seat by. That we’re having a conversation about a one- or two-point race is atypical. That we’re having it in a cycle that should be historically favorable for Democrats is even more notable. I don’t know how this race ends at this point but I do know that it’s anything but typical and it speaks to Rick’s strengths.