‘Kids, family, future’: New ad features Rick Scott’s grandsons

Following a diss-fueled debate and a seemingly endless series of news cycles with attack ads, Gov. Rick Scott is going positive.

In an ad released Thursday by his Senate campaign, Scott is getting help: His six grandsons made cameo appearances in the spot designed to remind Florida voters of the Naples Republican’s relatability and humanity.

“With all these attack ads, all Bill Nelson wants to do is throw mud,” Scott said, noting that he’s “used to it.”

“I have six grandsons,” Scott said. “That’s right. SIX BOYS.”

“We dig for bugs, make slime from scratch. With these guys — even lunch can get dirty,” Scott contended, before entering the call-to-action territory.

“Bill Nelson slings mud to make this race about me. It’s not. This race is about your kids, your family, your future,” Scott asserted.

Scott’s campaign has advanced the narrative of “Negative Nelson” since the summer, as part of a cycle of narratives asserting that Nelson is too negative, too “confused”, and too partisan to represent Florida.

“Now that Nelson is attacking Rick Scott, you might ask, after almost a half-century in office, why can’t Nelson find much good to say about himself? Bill Nelson. Negative. A long, long time,” the Scott ad from late June concludes.

Polling shows the race as too close to call.

A survey released this week by St. Pete Polls shows less than a one-point gap in Scott’s favor, though multiple other polls show a Nelson lean.