Rick Scott continues committee spending spree
Rick Scott is touting Florida's strong private-sector job gains.

FILE PHOTO:    Florida Governor Rick Scott speaks about hurricane relief measures for Florida and Puerto Rico at the White House in Washington

A political committee controlled by Gov. Rick Scott posted $10,000 in contributions and $95,000 in spending, marking the fourth month in a row expenditures outweighed income.

Let’s Get to Work took in a pair of $5,000 contributions, one from Illinois-based Covenant Aviation Security and another from Kansas City-based HNTB Holdings PAC.

A good chunk of the spending, $26,606, went to Maryland-based OnMessage. Scott has used the company for media production and consulting for years and has paid the company more than $2.5 million for its services since the political committee was formed in 2014.

Contribution Link received $16,000 last month for database services, while former Republican Party of Florida Finance Director Debbie Aleksander received nearly $19,500 for consulting and expenses and Robert Manders received $6,400 for finance consulting.

Let’s Get to Work has brought in nearly $57.5 million since its inception, but at the end of January the political committee had about $338,000 on hand. The on-hand total has dwindled at a fast pace over the past four months, as the committee has spent nearly $2.6 million while raising just under $150,000.

Scott is widely expected to challenge U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in his re-election campaign in the fall.

Nelson is one of a handful of incumbent Democratic senators who is running for re-election in a state carried by President Donald Trump in 2016.

Through the end of 2017, Nelson had about $8 million on hand in his re-election account. That figure includes about $2.3 million in contributions and $792,000 in spending in the fourth quarter.

Drew Wilson

Drew Wilson is Vice President of Florida Politics, where he helps lead a talented team that produces must-read newsletters including Sunburn, Takeaways from Tallahassee, and Diagnosis. A University of Florida alumnus, he began his career at The Independent Florida Alligator — the nation’s largest student-run newspaper and a training ground for many of Florida’s top political reporters. He later served as a business correspondent for The Hollywood Reporter, then returned to Tallahassee to cover the state economy and Legislature for LobbyTools and The Florida Current, before segueing to Florida Politics, where he’s been for more than a decade. He spends too much time workshopping zingers for Capitol Directions — and not enough time outdoors.



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