FL-Saint Leo University: Scott +2

[Fuzzy Bear]

I don't like Rick Scott, and I have never voted for him.  I have always voted for his Democratic opponents.  I consider him the worst sort of Social Darwinist; the survival of the fittest philosophy with a blind eye to the head start he has.

That being said, Scott is, quietly, an extremely formidable politician.  He's never been in a situation where he has come out looking really bad, even when he's on an unpopular side of an issue.  He's philisophically consistent, and he has focused on the coherent theme of job creation through lower taxes and fewer regulations.  While he's been doing this, Florida's economy has been rebounding from its low points of the last decade.  Whether or not this is Scott's doing or not is questionable, but he's the guy who's been talking about job creation constantly, and it HAS been happening.  Even more importantly, the jobs that Florida is now creating are jobs that are more likely to help out the unemployed in Florida that are in need of work now. 

Scott's performance through Hurricane Irma was magnificent; he was THE LEADER, without being a show-off.  He EXUDED leadership in a positive way, winning over folks who haven't always been on his side.  He projected COMPETENCE at a time when such a projection was needed to minimize panic.  He was PROACTIVE, rather than reactive, and this minimized damage and unpredictability.  Scott has been willing to be unpopular over the years, but he's always been willing to lead, and folks in Florida have progressively come around to appreciate this.  Scott has been underwater in approval ratings for most of his career, but he's gotten his head above water recently, and just at the right time.  And Scott looks vigorous; Nelson once was vigorous, but he's going to be 76 when he runs, and he looks as if he had a bad job of plastic surgery.  (I LIKE Nelson, and would vote for him if the election were today, but Scott's image is much better than Nelson's right now, for a lot of reasons.)

Scott has baggage, and some (the Medicare fraud his company perpetuated) he's stuck with.  I do think Scott has lived down a lot of his early career negatives and gained a lot of grudging respect.  I think the poll is very much accurate.  Scott is a case of a politician that is peaking at the right time.