Although Scott has been unbeatable since his first candidacy for a state post in 2010, the tone and direction of the GOP under Trump has shifted to a place outside his comfort zone. Trump’s GOP is largely foreign to Scott, a former health executive who adopts discussion groups and adheres to the day’s discussion points, not the improvised impetuosity that Trump embraces. That, together with his well-known lack of charisma, could spell initial problems for Scott’s ambitions at the White House.
Scott, a former Florida governor for two terms and now a junior senator from the state, was one of the first establishment politicians to support Trump’s candidacy for president. A tea party darling, Scott chaired a pro-Trump super PAC in 2016 that raised $ 20 million and, more recently, criticized Trump’s second impeachment trial and challenged the certification of the 2020 election.
But in recent public comments, Scott created distance between him and Trump. He said the Republican civil war is “canceled”, even when Trump plans revenge and potential primary challenges against Republican critics. As the new head of the Senate campaigning arm of the Republican Party, he said he would favor the incumbents over opponents, which largely closes the door on the Trump-backed insurgent support organization.
“In the eyes of Trump voters, Scott plays very safe,” said state deputy Anthony Sabatini, a Republican from the Orlando area who sponsored a bill that renames a stretch of the Florida highway after Trump. “Of course he is with Trump on a lot of votes and issues, but he is not charging for anything or pushing the conversation like the others are.”
Two recent surveys also show that Scott is having a hard time moving forward. Last weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll found Scott to be less than half a percent, while Ron DeSantis, a longtime rival with Scott, scored 43 percent if the former president doesn’t run in 2024. In another poll conducted last month by Florida Republican pollster Ryan Tyson, 69 percent of Republicans considered Scott’s performance strong or favorable, compared with 84 percent for DeSantis and 83 percent for Trump.
Scott was not even included in the poll looking at a potential 2024 field that does not include Trump made last month by Republican Party pollster Patrick Ruffini.
Some veterans of Florida politics, however, caution against paying too much attention to the early 2024 numbers. Scott was a giant in Florida politics for the past decade, and they’ve seen him use his vast wealth to defeat favorite rivals in the past and accumulate an impressive 3-0 record in state political disputes, a number that jumps to 4-0 if you count Scott overthrowing favorite Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum in the Republican Party’s 2010 governorate primaries.
For them, the message is clear: doubt Rick Scott at your own risk.
“I don’t know if CPAC is the most revealing audience in the world to know who will be the next candidate, or whatever,” said Brian Ballard, a Florida lobbyist who was close to Scott when he was governor and is a well-known influencer of Trump. “Rick Scott has a political cemetery full of opponents who didn’t take him seriously.”
“I think he will be able to resonate with Trump voters when the time comes,” added Ballard. “Just like Marco Rubio will do. Just like Ted Cruz will do. Everyone has their place. “
Chris Hartline, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee who previously worked for Scott in his US Senate cabinet, said in a text message: “Rick Scott is focused on one thing – saving the country from socialism by regaining the Senate from the United States. USA. Any suggestion or story beyond that is stupid. “
Susie Wiles, who led both Trump campaigns in Florida and advised Scott in his previous races, says Scott will be able to break away from Trump’s base when he focuses on his own policy again.
“Rick Scott is focused on being a senator now, and outside of winning races for other Republican senators,” she said. “When he decides to focus on something else, he will be successful. He always has been. “
Brian Burgess, Scott’s communications director after he became governor in 2010, said his former boss never relied on “high” political rhetoric to energize his supporters.
“Its strength lies in the methodical execution of a strategic plan, and then to live or die according to the results,” said Burgess. “He is who he is, and if he decides to run for president in a few years, it will be because there are a large number of Americans hungry for that kind of leadership, not because he can ‘beat’ Trump from other potential candidates. “
Although Scott struggled to gain traction among Trump’s most loyal voters, compared to other rising Republican stars, he also rocked sections of the party. Upon taking over as head of the NRSC, he fired a handful of senior officials and replaced them with his own longtime advisers, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Scott replaced the team without informing the Senate leadership but after the heated defeats in Georgia that saw Democrats win two seats in the Senate and change control of the chamber.
“He is trying to please two masters,” said Fabrizio. “These days, I just don’t know how you do it.”
A Florida Republican Party consultant said that Scott’s failure to gain traction with Trump voters and fights with the Republican Party’s more political government could leave him somewhat politically disoriented toward an electoral cycle of 2022, where he will be accused of running Republican campaigns for the Senate.
“The problem is that he has no clue. Trying to be a Trump person is not working, ”added the person. “Trying to be a leading person in the Senate is not working. So, what does he do? I think he just tries to win races, which is something he has done well. “