Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott speaking at the Jan S. Platt Library in Tampa on Oct. 24, 2024. (Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix)
With just 12 days until Election Day and early voting in full swing, it’s been apparent for a while that, for the first time in four decades, there will be no debate between the two candidates for U.S. Senate in Florida.
Despite the entreaties of Democratic challenger Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, GOP incumbent Rick Scott opted not to participate in any of the candidate forums agreed to by three television stations before voting began in the Sunshine State.
Meeting supporters at an early voting site in South Tampa on Thursday afternoon, the senator cited the recent hurricanes as a reason why there was no time for him to participate in such a forum.
“As you know, we went through three bad storms,” Scott replied when asked by the Phoenix about his decision, which would have arguably have given Mucarsel-Powell more exposure to voters than any other event during this election cycle. “So we worked on that, and then we got back to the campaign every day.”
Screenshot of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell on a Zoom conference call on April 19, 2024.
Scott debated Democratic Senate incumbent Bill Nelson during the 2018 election cycle, but only after he complained that Nelson was avoiding agreeing to engage with him. He similarly debated Democrat Alex Sink in 2010 and Charlie Crist in 2014 in his runs for governor (even after he delayed the start of their debate in Davie because of an electric fan sitting below Crist’s podium).
When asked by CNN last month whether he would debate Mucarsel-Powell, Scott indicated that it depended on her travel schedule, saying, “I’m watching to see if she’s going to start traveling the state.”
“She spends all of her time in Miami,” he added. “I continue to travel the state.”
The senator was similarly tight-lipped when asked whether he supported use of taxpayer funds by Gov. Ron DeSantis to combat Amendment 4, the proposed constitutional amendment that would repeal Florida’s six-week ban on most abortions and enshrine abortion rights in the Florida Constitution.
“I haven’t seen what they’ve been doing,” he said. “I’m pro-life, and I don’t support the ballot initiative.”
Snake ad
In a slightly lighter moment, Scott was asked whether he’d observed the recent television ad paid for by the Mucarsel-Powell campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) which depicts him as a real-live snake, with his opponent saying, “Florida’s biggest snake isn’t in the Everglades, he’s in the Senate: Rick Scott.”
Still photo from new Debbie Mucarsel-Powell/DSCC ad.
“I haven’t seen it,” Scott deadpanned, effectively ending any further inquiries on how he felt about being turned into a reptile.
Scott voted in his hometown of Naples on Monday, the first day of early voting. He said he had come to the Platt Library to meet his daughter and her family as she prepared to vote early.
Polls show Scott has led Mucarsel-Powell throughout the year, although she is staying within the margin of error in some surveys. He said on Thursday that his strategy for undecided voters was simply to talk about the issues.
“Most people are worried about their future. They’re worried about their job. Inflation’s impact on these people. They’re worried about crime and the border being open, so that’s what we’re talking to people about,” he said.
As to his thoughts on Mucarsel-Powell?
“My opponent’s silly. She’s a silly socialist, she’s not serious about anything. She lies about everything.”
The Mucarsel-Powell campaign did not immediately return a request for comment.
A coterie of Hillsborough Republican lawmakers joined Scott in the parking lot of the Platt Library for an impromptu rally for the Scott campaign. Among those observed in the crowd were Karen Gonzalez-Pittman, Jay Collins, and Danny Alvarez.
Hillsborough County State Attorney Suzy Lopez, running in one of the most watched races in the state this year against Democrat Andrew Warren, also was at the gathering.
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