Florida Gov Rick Scott goes missing
TALLAHASSEE — Across the nation, governors who aren't even on the ballot are using their political muscle to drag fellow Republicans to victory in a year in which Donald Trump has created uncertainty at the top of the ticket.
In Maryland, first-term Gov. Larry Hogan is hitting the trail for key congressional races. In Wisconsin and Ohio, Scott Walker and John Kasich have done bus tours and are frequently with Republican senators battling for re-election.
But in Florida, where U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and other Republicans are fighting for their political lives, Gov. Rick Scott is missing from the campaign trail.
When asked by the Times/Herald if he had any campaign stops planned, Scott replied: "There's none on the calendar."
Two years ago, Rubio and other congressional candidates joined Scott on a campaign bus tour when he battled Democrat Charlie Crist for re-election.
This year, however, not even Trump has been able to lure Scott onto the trail. Trump has made 19 campaign stops in Florida since the end of July. Scott didn't attend any of them.
Trump held a rally in Collier County on Sunday when Scott, who lives in nearby Naples, was in town. And then on Tuesday in Tallahassee, Scott was 8 miles from a nearby Trump rally. Scott said he had no time to meet with him before either stop. Scott said on Tuesday he had a dinner party with almost 50 people at the Governor's Mansion and could not leave them for Trump.
Scott said he still supports Trump. And he is running a political fundraising committee, Rebuilding America Now, that has raised more than $19 million to support him. Because super PACs like Scott's are prohibited from directly coordinating with campaigns, Scott's absence from Trump's rallies — while not legally required — helps avoid perceptions that they are working on campaign strategy together.
Outside of the PAC donations, Scott has not personally written any checks to Trump's campaign like he did in past presidential races. In 2008 and 2012, Scott donated more than $122,000 to John McCain, Mitt Romney and political committees that supported their campaigns.
"My first job is to represent the 20.6 million people who live in the state," said Scott, adding he's busy working on combating Zika and on hurricane recovery efforts.
"That's my primary focus right now," Scott said. "If there is the opportunity, I will do what I can to help people."
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