About Rick Scott’s record as Florida’s Governor
Excerpt: Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott was a political unknown before he ran for governor eight years ago and rode into office on the tea party wave. Reelected in 2014, the term-limited state leader wants to move to the national stage.
Floridians should say No. There is too much at stake for Florida — and the nation — for state voters to give Scott a chance to do damage on a larger scale.
Scott, a Republican, is challenging incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson in what has been a nationally watched marquee matchup from the start. Republicans think they can flip it in a state that went for President Trump two years ago. Democrats have to hang onto it if they hope to win a majority in the Senate.
In his three terms in the Senate, Nelson, 76, has made Florida, its people, its environment and its well-being his priority. After eight years, unfortunately, the same simply cannot be said about Scott.
Bottom Line: The Miami Herald endorsing Nelson over Scott is about as surprising as Obama endorsing Gillum. I’m not interested in traveling down the path of discussing the lack of merit in the arguments advanced based on pure ideology. It is hilarious how there is the attempted guise of thoughtfulness to the endorsement. There’s actually a lot of work that goes into propping up Nelson when cross referenced with Scott’s track record. But here’s the thing. Once again there are two sides to stories and one side to facts. It’s demonstrably incorrect to assert that Bill Nelson has done more for Florida in the Senate than Rick Scott has as Governor (despite the fact that Nelson’s been there for ten years longer than Scott’s been Governor). I’m not interested in discussing what Nelson has (mostly hasn’t) done. Instead I want to illustrate the point about how effective Rick Scott has been as Governor. These are the facts...
When Rick Scott became Governor...
- The unemployment rate was 11.1%
- The high school graduation rate was 69%
- Median Household income was $44,066
- Florida’s economy produced $728 billion in revenue
- Florida’s crime rate was rising
Today...
- The unemployment rate is 3.7% (best improvement in the country)
- The high school graduation rate is 82.3% (5th best improvement in the country)
- Median Household income is $53,681 (22% increase – 2nd best increase)
- Florida’s economy produced $967 billion in 2017 (passing $1 trillion in 2018 – 38% faster growth rate than the national average)
- Florida’s crime rate hit a 47-year low
I could keep going but you get the idea. Rick Scott has been a top three Governor in the country – with a strong case for being the best over the past 7+ years. Whatever you like or don’t like politically doesn’t change that reality. And if you seriously want to compare Nelson’s record, not rhetoric, but actual record to Rick’s... I have no doubt that Rick would welcome the comparison with open arms.