Will voters be buying Rick Scott?
7/22/2010

Spending $25 million of his own money on a furious three-month television advertising campaign, political outsider Rick Scott has gone from relative anonymity to leading the Republican race to become Florida's next governor.

Now, just two weeks before early voting begins in the primary, Scott is trying to close the deal with voters by embarking on a week-long bus tour that swings through Sarasota today.

Scott, a former hospital chain executive, started the tour by announcing his first specific policy proposal, an economic-growth plan tagged: "7 steps. 700,000 jobs. 7 years."

Scott's main Republican opponent, Bill McCollum, the state's attorney general, has sharpened his campaign in recent weeks, including creating a tough ad campaign that essentially accuses Scott's former health care company of running the largest Medicare scam in U.S. history.

McCollum has most of the Republican political establishment on his side -- including endorsements from Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney -- and they are pouring money into his campaign in a vigorous effort to counteract Scott's deep pockets.

Straw polls among Republican groups in Hillsborough County and in Lee County, near Scott's home in Naples, have favored McCollum.

But Scott, 57, a serial entrepreneur with a sunny disposition who bought his first company -- a doughnut shop -- at age 20 and was named one of Time magazine's 25 most influential people in 1996, continues to make inroads among rank-and-file party members.

A large turnout is expected at his first Sarasota visit.

Republican leaders throughout Southwest Florida who have met Scott say he is personable and has the ability to bring McCollum supporters to his side.

"A lot of people were leaning towards McCollum, but when Rick Scott spoke they liked him too, so now it's a bit of a dilemma for people," said Joan Shirey, president of the 75-member East Manatee Republican Club, which had Scott as a speaker last week.

In Charlotte County, some Republicans are even complaining that their local party endorsed McCollum too early -- before Scott jumped in the race -- and should reconsider.

"The party endorsed McCollum and the clubs really have to fall in line, unfortunately," said Bill Folchi, president of the Charlotte County Republican Club. "Now we're kind of trapped."

Folchi heard Scott speak in Punta Gorda last week.

"I thought he made a good presentation," Folchi said. "I was impressed with his business experience."

Scott has dipped deeply into his estimated $218 million personal fortune since entering the race in April. A Quinnipiac University poll released in June showed Scott leading in the primary with 44 percent of likely voters compared to 31 percent for McCollum.

Scott has appeal as an outsider candidate during a year when Tea Party groups have stoked anti-incumbent attitudes, said Chuck Volkert, president of the nearly 400-member Sarasota Republican Club.

Volkert voted for McCollum when he ran for attorney general, but he is undecided in the governor's race and believes many of his club members are as well.

One of the big knocks against McCollum, Volkert said, is the view trumpeted in many Scott ads that McCollum is a career politician.

McCollum was elected to Congress in 1981 and served for 19 years before becoming Florida's attorney general in 2006.

"They just feel like McCollum's one of the good old boys in politics for a third of a century," Volkert said of his club members who support Scott.

Scott's harshest criticism has come over the $1.7 billion fine his hospital chain paid for overbilling Medicare, but many Republicans seem willing to look past the issue.

"They didn't indict him, they didn't put him in jail," Volkert said. "They may be burning this up into a frenzy that doesn't exist."
Political experts say the next several weeks will determine whether Scott builds on the buzz created by his advertising blitz, or stumbles in a critical test at daily campaigning.

Voters want to know if the impression they have of Scott from the carefully crafted ads is real or a facade.

"Polls can never predict turnout, so you go to these Republican clubs because they are high-turnout voters," said Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida. "It's very important for him to persuade the party activists he is a credible candidate."

Scott has laid the groundwork well, said Joe Gruters, chairman of the Republican Party of Sarasota County.

"I would imagine after six weeks of seeing his ads five times a day people would want to meet him," Gruters said. "The guy is obviously a dynamic guy, very successful, business oriented, there's a lot of people who are curious about him."

Source: The Herald-Tribune