The Florida Republican establishment began digging out from the wreckage of the Bill McCollum campaign Wednesday, searching for a political foothold after being rocked by maverick, self-funder Rick Scotts victory in the GOP primary for governor.
Following his 46 to 43 percent victory over McCollum, with self-styled candidate Mike McCalister drawing a surprising 10 percent of the GOP vote, Scott seemed intent on keeping his `party-of-one style.
There was no victory tour; no major public appearances or statements.
But there was a fund-raising letter a first for Scott who, along with his wife, Ann, spent $50 million on his campaign.
With your collective support, we can send a clear message to the Washington insiders, the Tallahassee insiders and the special interests, Scott wrote in his initial major pitch to contributors. Today, we are one election away from taking our state back.
There was also a meeting scheduled for Thursday in Fort Lauderdale between Scott and Florida Republican Chairman John Thrasher, who initiated the phone call with the primary winner. The call followed a campaign in which Thrasher and most party insiders repeatedly trashed the first-time candidate and former health-care executive.
McCollum and political spending committees steered by party leaders spent $23 million in their unsuccessful bid to defeat Scott.
It takes a few days for people to get moving again, Thrasher conceded. But the real objective here is to win the governors mansion and defeat (Democratic nominee) Alex Sink. Our folks are fired up.
But many party leaders and corporate contributors who had bet heavily on McCollum, loser of his third statewide race, acknowledged they were struggling to come to grips with Scott as the GOP standard-bearer.
Fifty-million dollars later, I still dont know what Rick Scott stands for, said lobbyist Rich Heffley on Wednesday, leaving the Altamonte Springs hotel where McCollums election-night party had quickly gone flat. Hes a political Rohrshach test.
Mark Wilson, president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, whose organization, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into political committees that helped finance McCollums advertising blitz, acknowledged that a chamber endorsement of Scott was no guarantee.
Were going to look at his jobs plan and the jobs plan that Alex Sink has put out, Wilson said. Well be making a decision mostly based on that.
Robert Coker, longtime lobbyist for U.S. Sugar, whose $197 million land sale to the South Florida Water Management District has been condemned by Scott, said he needed a couple of days to let the primary night results sink in.
U.S. Sugar, a heavy contributor to McCollum and the Florida Republican Party, is likely to remain an eager political donor to the GOP nominee, but Coker conceded, Rick Scott doesnt look like he needs any money. I think everybody is taking a deep breath this morning.
Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson warned that if the party remained divided, it risks losing to Sink in November. Florida Republicans won the governors office in 1966 and 1986 after Democrats were sunk by bruising primary battles that left bitter feelings similar to those still percolating among Republicans.
The question is, will the party coalesce behind him in November? He took some pretty hard shots at the party, Bronson said of Scott, whose late-hour TV spot linking McCollum to indicted former party chairman Jim Greer drew howls of protest from GOP leaders.
Divided parties have lost before. I dont know why history would change, Bronson warned.
Former Gov. Jeb Bush, who cut TV ads for McCollum, told the News Service of Florida in an e-mail sent by a spokeswoman that the party must now unite and work together for victory in November.
But Kevin Wagner, a political scientist at Florida Atlantic University, said that Scott -- whose net worth is a reported $218 million -- may have little incentive to turn back to the party and corporate backing that he ridiculed in winning the partys nomination.
I dont think youre going to see Scott bend his knee to the party, Wagner said. He doesnt have to. Money is a very liberating thing.
The division within the party was reflected in Tuesdays results. While McCollum far outpaced Scott in South Florida, particularly in Miami-Dade where the nominees anti-illegal immigration TV spots were condemned by many Hispanic Republicans, McCollum generally lost to Scott in populous Tampa Bay, the Panhandle and Jacksonville area.
And while Sink sought to pivot toward the November election after coasting to her partys nomination Tuesday, Wagner said she may draw the same insider label that was coated around McCollums campaign.
She is in the same position as McCollum, Wagner said. She has to fund-raise. And that means she has to compromise.
Sink already has pushed Scott to take part in three statewide television debates before the November election prodding her opponent to commit to exchanges that he largely avoided with McCollum.
I have proven business experience, Sink said. I have a very detailed business plan for reviving our economy. You know, Ive just been in Tallahassee for three years but I have been there, on-site, and I can tell you the partisanship and special interests are worse than people think.
