Joe Henderson
There were all kinds of messages being sent to Gov. Rick Scott late last week at the Florida House of Representatives.
The one from Democrat Bill Nelson, a three-term U.S. senator, can be summed up in two words: game on.
Republican House Speaker Richard Corcoran had his own two-word message for the governor. I think I’ll leave it at that. Is loathing too strong a word for how those two feel about each other?
Whatever the interpretation of the message, the invitation to Nelson from Corcoran to address the House was intriguing, given that Nelson could face Scott in a bare-knuckle brawl for the 2018 senate race.
It gave Nelson some free airtime on a no-lose issue at a time when Scott’s poll numbers are surging.
His effusive praise of Corcoran for “the courageous stand he’s taken with all of those children who are all buried” at the infamous Dozier School for Boys in north Florida” allowed Nelson to look like someone willing to work with everybody for the greater good.
Corcoran came across that way as well, just in case he decides to run for governor in 2018.
Unless …
Corcoran decides to go after Scott for the GOP nomination.
Say what?
That speculation is gaining traction, given the Republican field for governor likely can be winnowed down to “Adam” and “Putnam.”
As a senate candidate though, Corcoran could be the darling of cost-cutters everywhere. He has stood in the legislative doorway to block Scott’s favored programs for business and tourism incentives.
Republicans consider Nelson vulnerable and will pour every nickel they can into the effort to unseat him. And Corcoran is amassing quite a reputation for changing the way business is done in Tallahassee.
It won’t be easy.
Even though a lot has changed since Nelson swamped Connie Mack IV by 13 percentage points in 2012 and much of it hasn’t been good for Democrats, he has made sure to shore up the home front while in office.
He frequently returns to the state to touch base with voters and was a vocal advocate for congressional funding to combat the Zika virus and to address the environmental mess known last summer as the algae bloom.
Just as Republicans will roll out the war chest to unseat Nelson, so Democrats likely will spend what it takes to keep an important seat from going into GOP hands.
That brings us back to Corcoran’s invitation to Nelson. It was a sharp stick in the eye of the governor, one possibly designed to fuel the kind of speculation we have in this column.
Corcoran, a crafty chap, undoubtedly knew that.
He got his wish.
But if his aim is to run against Nelson eventually, why give his rival the chance for free feel-good publicity?
Because he could.
