Sen. Rick Scott's team called Hillary Clinton's impending Florida campaign visit "fantastic news" for the Republican Party, echoing conservative claims that enlisting the former First Lady shows Democrats' election "desperation."
The Scott team's comments come one day before Clinton is set to speak in Tampa to urge Democrats to get out to vote, and one day after the Republican Party of Florida also called the scheduling "desperate." On Sunday, her husband former President Bill Clinton will arrive in Orlando for a campaign visit.
"Nasty Hillary Clinton coming to Florida is fantastic news for Republicans," Scott spokesman Will Hampson said in a Friday statement. "Whether national Democrats choose to call Republicans deplorables like Hillary or garbage like Biden, the voters see clearly how important it is to beat them soundly on election day."
Hampson turned to Scott's opponent, Democrat former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, claiming that Clinton's trip heralds doom for both Kamala Harris and Mucarsel-Powell.
"Senator Rick Scott and Donald Trump are working their butts off to ensure that, like Hillary, Kamala Harris gets nowhere near the presidency and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell gets nowhere near the Senate."
In recent Florida polls, Trump leads Harris by between eight and nine percentage points, speaking strongly to Republicans' assertion that Florida is not in play. And most likely, they're right: look no further than the barebones money spent by national Democrats in the Sunshine State, not to mention that Harris hasn't made a single stop in Florida since she became the nominee.
Republicans also have a million more registered voters than Democrats, and so far over 777K more Republicans than Democrats have voted.
The Scott v. Mucarsel-Powell story is a little different: despite Republicans' massive voter advantages, polls consistently have Mucarsel-Powell within striking distance of Scott, who has won every election by a margin of less than two percentage points. The latest polls have Scott leading the Latina Congresswoman by just three to four points, gassing up rumors that she may be able to upset the conservative giant.
Early voting ends Sunday evening. The election is on Tuesday.
