Rick Scott can be pardoned if he took a victory lap on Friday as he announced the state unemployment rate dropped below 6 percent and said 715,700 jobs had been created under his watch.
Democrats and their cheerleaders in the mainstream media will harp on a comment Scott made during a debate with Alex Sink that the 700,000 new jobs would be in addition to other factors. Charlie Crist and the Florida Democrats even made it the focus of a TV spot in the last weeks of this years gubernatorial campaign.
But Floridians did the same thing they did in 2010. They understood whatever his deficiencies as a communicator, Scott takes job creation seriously and left him in charge. Even with Crists previous Republican roots and admittedly large advantage over Scott on charisma, the needle didnt move and the governor remained in Tallahassee.
Jobs have always been Scotts political bread and butter. Scott beat Bill McCollum and Sink on that issue in 2010 and his triumph over Crist was largely based on economic policy and job creation. Returning to the issue with glee on Friday, Scott may as well have raised his hands in the air like a boxer who just won a title fight. The jobs announcement capped off what has been an excellent year for Scott despite his narrow win over Crist.
Now the question turns to what Scott will do for an encore. With more revenue coming in than expected, he should be able to add two more victories to his record next year as he looks to cut taxes while increasing education spending. Republicans have solid majorities in both chambers of the Legislature so, even with an often cantankerous Senate, Scott should have a nice first half of 2015.
Of course there are a few storm clouds on the horizon for Scott. Despite the GOPs big win this year, Leslie Dougher, who has Scotts support, isnt a slam dunk to keep her job at the RPOF. There will also be new members of the administration in important spots but, even with Melissa Sellers taking over as chief of staff, several key members of Scotts team are staying on the job. And some of the new hires have been part of Scotts administration who have won promotion.
Scott did well in 2014 and the good times seem poised to keep coming. Headed into 2015, even with a slim win over Crist and Doughers fate up in the air, Scott has never been politically stronger.
Tallahassee political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis exclusively for Sunshine State News.
