Updated: 5:17 p.m.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has kept a low profile in the weeks leading up to his state’s Republican presidential primary. And that’s probably for good reason: It’s no stretch to say Scott is one of the most disliked governors in the U.S. His disapproval rating peaked at almost 60 percent and currently hovers in the mid-40s.
Given those numbers, it’s not surprising that Scott’s endorsement “is not sought very intensely by the candidates,” University of Miami Associate Professor of Political Science Gregory Koger told TPM. It could “hurt as much as help,” he said.
When Scott has weighed in on the Florida primary, it has been through cable news interviews. His message is always the same: jobs. Florida’s unemployment rate — 9.9 percent — is higher than the national average and, of course, the housing crisis has hit Florida particularly hard.
Scott’s press secretary, Lane Wright, told TPM that Scott has spoken to several of the Republican candidates, and that he wants them to focus on jobs. “We’re not hearing enough about that issue during this process,” Wright said. “But Governor Scott is confident the person who can convince the American people he has the best plan for job creation and fixing our economy will be the nominee and our next president.”
Given the volatile Republican primary race, Scott has been “smart not to endorse,” Florida State University Professor of Political Science Carol Weissert told TPM. The Republican National Convention is coming up in Tampa, too, which Weissert said is another reason Scott may be cautious to endorse. “You never want to back the wrong horse,” Weissert said, and this way, Scott at the convention can welcome whomever the nominee is.
Florida state Rep. Mark Pafford (D) agrees. “The fact that he hasn’t (endorsed) would suggest to me that he fears that he could hurt somebody that he got behind,” Pafford told TPM. “I can’t name one person would say say, ‘I’m a Rick Scott Republican.'”
But Scott on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday offered Mitt Romney some measured praise. Scott said Romney is leading among Latino voters in Florida because of his commitment to family. “He’s built a great family,” Scott said. “He’s somebody that’s been successful in life. So I think, if they look at his background, that’s what they want.” And late last week, Scott used a Holocaust quote — referring to the famous Martin Niemöller quote, “First they came…” — when speaking about the GOP candidates’ criticism of Romney’s financial success.
“We shouldn’t be allowing candidates to attack people in business, we should be saying … ‘that’s us,'” Scott said, according to the Miami Herald. “When you see somebody being attacked because they live the American dream, we ought to go out and say, ‘Gosh, I’d like to live the American dream.”
Wright, told TPM that Scott’s mention of the quote shouldn’t be seen as comparing the Holocaust to attacks on capitalism. “Governor Scott has the quote framed and hanging on his wall in his office” Wright told TPM in an email. “It teaches a universal principle: That if one group is being unjustly attacked, and no one speaks up to defend it, everyone is at risk. He was simply illustrating that principle.”
Watch Scott on CNN’s State of the Union:
