Former Governor Jeb Bush - who supported Bill McCollum - is now saying Scott is ready to be governor. And of all things, Scott has chosen Republican state representative Jennifer Carroll to be his running mate. What's weird about that? Carroll supported McCollum during the primary campaign. Analysts and pollsters say Scott chose Carroll - who says she is a conservative - because she's a woman and she's black. They call it an obvious move on Scott's part to close the gender and race gap before the November 2nd general election.
But is it enough for the candidate who described himself as an "outsider"- and spent about 50 million dollars of his own money to get that message out - to win the hearts and minds of die-hard Republican voters? Do they really trust him - considering his bruised business background and his criticism of "career politicians" (and that includes Republicans) - to be true to the Republican cause? Some Republican officials - not a lot - have already come out in support of non-party candidate Charlie Crist.
But the issue is not about party loyalty - it's about money. After spending a ton of his own money on the primary race - Scott may not be too anxious to spend more on the big one. He's counting on lots of help from his own party. The question is - will the party stand behind him financially? Will it give him the money he needs to beat Alex Sink?
Call me a cynic - but Scott offended a lot of Republicans on his way to the primary win. Memories are long - maybe too long for a Scott win in November.
Bill Ratliff
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