After three wins in a row, Donald Trump looks like a solid favorite to win the Republican presidential nomination--and he could be looking to the Sunshine State to find a running mate. Earlier this week, Trump talked about what he would look for in an understudy on the ticket and, if he wins in November, as vice president.
"I would want somebody that could help me with government, so most likely that would be a political person," Trump said, according to Bloomberg. "You want somebody that can help you with legislation, getting it through."
After endorsing Trump on Friday, Chris Christie could fill that role though he didn't exactly shine as a presidential candidate. There are other possibilities. The Washington Post released a list this week of possible running mates for Trump and Florida’s governor made the list. Besides Rick Scott, the Washington Post had Carly Fiorina, Nikki Haley and Sarah Palin on the list and considered leaders from the private sector as a real possibility.
“The Florida governor is, yes, a governor and, therefore, part of the political class that Trump loathes. But Scott, like Trump, has his roots in the private sector — making millions as a health-care executive before he ran for office in 2010. And Scott got into the governor's mansion by beating the Florida Republican establishment at its own game — sort of like Trump has done in this race. Plus, don't forget that Scott was an an early advocate of Trump's message,” Chris Cilliza from the Washington Post wrote. “Under normal circumstances, the fact that Scott's company paid a $1.7 billion Medicare fraud penalty would be disqualifying. But this is Donald Trump we are talking about.”
While his polling numbers remain weak in Florida, that never bothered Scott in either 2010 or 2014. To be sure, Scott could help deliver a swing state to the Republican column, something Paul Ryan did not do in 2012 as Mitt Romney failed to flip Wisconsin. While he’s not particularly close to either Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio, Scott could help Trump win supporters of those two primary rivals.
For his part, back in January, Scott offered very kind words for GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump in an op-ed that ran in the USA Today.
“I know Donald Trump personally, and while I currently have no plans to endorse a candidate before Florida’s March presidential primary, there is no doubt that Donald is a man who speaks and tweets his mind freely,” Scott wrote. “But, I don’t think his ability to give the most interesting interviews or speeches is the only thing that has him leading in the polls. I think he is capturing the frustration of many Americans after seven years of President Obama’s very intentional government takeover of the American economy.”
Pointing to his own business career, Scott slammed bureaucratic regulations emerging out of Washington D.C. that hurt the private sector and insisted he understood why frustrated Republicans were backing Trump. Scott also used his time on the national stage to showcase his own record.
“I ran for governor of Florida to turn our economy around,” Scott noted. “I pledged to create 700,000 jobs in seven years. In the last five years, we have added one million private sector jobs. We presently have almost 300,000 job openings. Housing prices have recovered, and our crime rate is at a 44 year low. Even though the politicians will scoff at the notion, we can see this kind of growth nationally if we dramatically change our approach to governing.
“It is my hope that every Republican presidential candidate will become laser-focused on job creation because I want our next president to be a Republican, and I want them to eliminate the regulations and taxes that are poisoning our country’s future,” Scott concluded. “The pollsters and pundits will keep trying to read voters’ minds. In the meantime, I am glad Republicans are frustrated. I am glad we are demanding a major change, because until we get serious about that, we will continue to get more of the same.”
Scott does have one considerable advantage if he makes Trump’s shortlist: he reinforces the candidate’s strengths which can be a help on a presidential ticket. Take Al Gore for example. Back in 1992, Gore could present himself as a young, moderate Southern Democrat which was exactly how Bill Clinton was portraying himself. That being the case, if he goes with Scott, Trump can say he’s picked a fellow maverick who understands how businesses help the economy and create jobs as his understudy.
Of course, Scott has his drawbacks. He’s not exactly the type of candidate who will bring Democrats and independents to Trump even if he can help nail Florida down for the Republican ticket. Scott also still cuts an awkward public figure. Trump’s economic message should also play better in the Great Lakes than the Sun Belt and he might prefer picking a running mate from that area. Still, if Trump gets the nomination, Scott makes some sense as a running mate and certainly shouldn’t be instantly discounted.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
