Peter Schorsch
There was never any real doubt that Gov. Rick Scott would challenge U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson this fall.
Instead, the question was/is how would Scott and Co. lift the curtain.
Scott will make a “big” announcement on his political future today in Orlando, followed-up by another press conference in Ft. Myers. He’ll also broadcast his announcement via Facebook Live.
As for which media outlet landed the first acknowledgement of the worst kept secret in Tallahassee, the scoreboard shows that POLITICO Florida’s Matt Dixon and Marc Caputo won that exclusive.
“I’m going to campaign for this job. I know there are going to be people that like what I’m saying. There are going to be people who don’t like what I’m saying,” Scott told POLITICO Florida. “Let’s go back to 2010. No one, I don’t believe hardly anybody, endorsed me in 2010. Did that phase me? No. Whether they do or whether they don’t, I’m doing what I believe in.”
It’s a sign of the times that Scott granted POLITICO Florida the exclusive rather than the Tampa Bay Times or one of the state’s larger television stations. The decision reflects, in part, PF’s deep, dual reach into both Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. Also, Scott’s chief campaign adviser, Curt Anderson of On Message, routinely dishes to Caputo. It just makes sense that POLITICO Florida break this news.
The idea of the Tampa Bay Times, the state’s largest newspaper, NOT being the launch pad for a statewide campaign would have been unthinkable eight years ago. Now its a rarity when the Times breaks the news about any candidate making their plans official.
I almost expected the Associated Press’ Gary Fineout to get the first bite at the apple. The AP has been Scott World’s go-to outlet for several years now, especially because the venerated news organization tends to avoid putting any mustard on the hot dog, so to speak.
I knew there was zero chance that this outlet would break the news about Scott’s 2018 plans, although it was not for a lack of trying. We had a few of the details first, but there will always be lingering bad feelings between some of Scott’s people and myself because of my attacks on him, which began in 2011 with the first organized protest of Scott as governor and continued through the 2014 Charlie Crist campaign to unseat Scott. I understand and respect why Rick Scott won’t sit down with me.
Fortunately or unfortunately, this lack of access to Scott forces me into the role of the “loyal opposition.” Hence Florida Politics is loaded up with scoops and stories about the Democrats – the Florida Democratic Party, Senate Majority PAC, American Bridge, etc. – bracketing of Scott.
Of course, the big news out of Tallahassee is not about Scott running for the U.S. Senate, it’s this (if I know my audience, that will be our most-read story today).
