New Rick Scott ad says ‘it’s time to retire’ Bill Nelson

Nelson Scott ad

A new TV ad from Republican Gov. Rick Scott’s Senate campaign is going after incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson for his attendance record in Washington and saying it is time to force the third-term Democrat into retirement.

The ad, titled “46 years,” beats the drum on several of the Scott campaign’s criticisms of Nelson, from his status as a “career politician” to Team Scott’s opinion that Nelson hasn’t accomplished much during his tenure in the U.S. House and Senate.

“46 years as a politician. Of political speeches. Of broken promises to clean up the environment. Of living off the taxpayers. 46 years of Bill Nelson. And nothing got done. No bills. No action. Just talk,” the ad narrator says. “And now Nelson rarely shows up for work. In the past 18 years, Nelson skipped 45 percent of the hearings on national security.

“Nelson opposes term limits. So if you support term limits – it’s time for a change. It’s time to retire Nelson,” the narrator concludes.

The ad closes with Scott saying his signature catchphrase from his two successful campaigns for Florida Governor: “Let’s get to work.”

The Nelson vs. Scott contest is one of the most competitive, and most watched, U.S. Senate races in the country. Scott, term-limited as Governor, had telegraphed his intention to challenge Nelson for months before entering the the race in April and quickly taking a polling lead on the back of a massive media blitz.

Scott’s media machine has kept rolling since then and has had nearly triple the funds Nelson has had to work with.

As of Sept. 30, Scott had brought in nearly $55 million for his campaign, including just shy of $39 million in candidate contributions. That haul got a substantial boost this week after Scott whipped out his checkbook yet again to throw another $7.5 million of his personal wealth into the campaign.

Nelson’s total at the end of the third-quarter stood at about $23.5 million with $8.4 million in the bank.

Though Scott has dominated in the money race, his early polling lead has largely evaporated as the race has turned into a dogfight in the final stretch.

A survey released Monday by St. Pete Polls showed the two men deadlocked at 48 percent apiece, while other polls have shown similarly close results.

As of Friday, election forecaster FiveThirtyEight says Nelson has a 75 percent chance to earn a fourth term next month. Their forecasting model predicts Nelson will win 52-48 percent on Election Day.

Scott’s ad is below.

Drew Wilson

Drew Wilson covers legislative campaigns and fundraising for Florida Politics. He is a former editor at The Independent Florida Alligator and business correspondent at The Hollywood Reporter. Wilson, a University of Florida alumnus, covered the state economy and Legislature for LobbyTools and The Florida Current prior to joining Florida Politics.


2 comments

  • Michele Ryan

    October 26, 2018 at 6:03 pm

    BILL NELSON and Socialist ANDREW GILLUM are running for Senate & Governor respectively. Nelson / Gillum both proudly supports abolishing ICE, sanctuary cities, amnesty for millions of illegal aliens, using taxpayer funds for illegal aliens & DACA. In addition, both are weak on border security and national defense.

    If you OPPOSE illegal immigration, taxpayer funds used for illegal aliens, sanctuary cities, amnesty r Please VOTE NO for BILL NELSON & ANDREW GILLUM this November….we can’t afford anymore Democrats. Both supported by both La Raza & MALDEF which says it all.

    Vote this election for candidates who prioritize citizens over illegal aliens (bet you thought that was a given …not anymore.) Those candidates who oppose sanctuary cities, open borders, non citizens voting, amnesty for millions of illegal aliens and taxpayer funded in state college tuition discounts. That means NO Democrats.

    Recent Gallup poll- almost 60% of Democrats now view socialism positively, little changed from 2010 survey.

    To Democrats programs like (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA) and (Temporary Protective Status, TPS.) are permanent programs. There is nothing temporary about these programs to the left. The goal for Democrats is to flood/lure the country with illegal aliens & refugees, then fight against / eliminate deportations. Democrats want to encourage, reward, protect illegal aliens with jobs, amnesty, drivers licenses, discounts for college tuition, scholarships, then after they’re here….protect them from deportation. This creates MORE illegal entry and the Democrats know this.

    The current migration at our southern border is costing taxpayers a Kings Ransom. Fleeing persecution? or fleeing for freebies? they sure don’t stay in Mexico when they reach “safety” or ask for political asylum in Mexico. Why? because Mexico will give them NOTHING. So they make the long journey to our border, our generous Democrats and our tax dollars. Just debating DACA in congress is costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars….. thank the parents.

    Just a few examples of the more outrageous costs associated with illegal immigration, we will pass this burden on to our children and grand children as has been passed on to us.

    *The cost of educating illegal aliens children is staggering. From K-12 it costs taxpayers $122,000 for EACH illegal alien student. This does not include the billions spent on bilingual education for illegal aliens.

    *Taxpayers in numerous states are funding in state college tuition discounts for illegal aliens. Cost to taxpayers over a billion dollars annually.

    *30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.Does not include local jails and State Prisons. At $21,000 per year expense per inmate in Federal Prison U do the math.

    *$3Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate, process Illegal aliens in the Criminal justice system. I repeat 3 MILLION a DAY.

    *$2.2Billion dollars a year is spent on is spent on food assistance programs such as SNAP (food stamps) WIC, & free school lunches.

    If you OPPOSE illegal immigration, taxpayer funds used for illegal aliens, sanctuary cities, non citizens voting, open borders, amnesty for millions of illegal aliens, weak border security, tax increases. VOTE NO for ALL Democrats this November.

    • Andrew

      October 26, 2018 at 10:16 pm

      No.

Comments are closed.


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