Jacob Ogles
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson touted a series of newspaper endorsements and swiped at Republican opponent Rick Scott’s asset growth while Governor as he prepared to vote in Orlando today.
Nelson, a three-term incumbent, garnered endorsements from every major newspaper in Florida, including the Tampa Bay Times on Sunday.
Nelson and daughter Nan Ellen will vote early at the Orange County Supervisor of Elections office in Orlando today. But in a news release announcing the photo op, Nelson included many swipes at Scott, Florida’s two-term Governor.
“Scott has been booed out of campaign stops and lambasted in public over his reported many conflicts of interest and self-enrichment while in office the past eight years,” the release reads.
He references some recent reports looking at the growth in Scott’s blind trusts while he served in the Governor’s Mansion. The word enrichment seemed a reference to a recent Sun-Sentinel column alleging Scott made that a policy.
“Scott has multiple personal investments in corporations, partnerships, and funds that stood to benefit from his administration’s actions,” Nelson’s press release continues.
The release also specifically quotes endorsements from the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times.
“[Nelson] has established himself as a champion of Florida,” the Herald writes in its endorsement. “There’s too much at stake for Florida — and the nation — for state voters to give Scott a chance to do damage on a larger scale.”
The Times endorsement seemed more damning of Scott, writing “conflicts of interest are a hallmark of Scott’s tenure in Tallahassee.”
Nelson cited a New York Times poll that showed Nelson ahead of Scott 48-44.
But other polls say the race appears much tighter. A CBS/YouGov poll released Sunday shows Scott and Nelson deadlocked at 46 percent.
Political prognosticators including Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball list the race as a toss-up.
