Despite grumblings from the right and threats of a primary challenge, Gov. Rick Scott is currently in good shape with Florida Republicans.
Unlike most politicians in Florida, Scott did not spend years moving up the ranks and building a base with his party. Most Republican leaders supported then-Attorney General Bill McCollum over Scott in the 2010 gubernatorial primary. After an ugly fight with heavy mudslinging on both sides, Scott beat McCollum 46 percent to 43 percent. Things were so bad that McCollum refused to endorse Scott in November.
One of the more underreported stories in Florida politics since the 2010 election has been how Scott has made inroads with the Republican faithful since the fight against McCollum. When Scott accepted federal dollars for the Obamacare-mandated Medicaid expansion, conservatives were outraged and there were threats that they would support someone else for the Republican nomination in 2014.
But theres a reason the likes of Adam Putnam and Allen West have stayed out of the Republican primary. Despite his occasional step to the left, Scott continues to grow more popular with Florida Republicans.
Take the Quinnipiac poll that came out last week. Scott did much better in it among Republicans than he did in a poll from Quinnipiac in December.
In the December poll, 63 percent of Republicans approved of Scott. In the new poll, 72 percent of Republicans say they approve of the governor. Only 55 percent of Republicans viewed Scott as favorable in the December poll, but that number went up to 74 percent in the poll released last week. Back in December, 55 percent of Republicans thought Scott deserved a second term and 53 percent even said the governor should face a primary. Last week, 63 percent of Republicans said Scott should get a second term.
While the governor has some way to go before being competitive in the 2014 election, his numbers are going up as the economy improves. Comparing the December poll to the June one shows Floridas economic rebound is helping Scott rein in Republicans who might otherwise support other candidates next year. Only 29 percent of Republicans thought Floridas economy was getting better in December. Last week, 40 percent of Republicans said the economy was improving in Florida.
Despite his decades of being active with the GOP, former Gov. Charlie Crist, who is now a Democrat, took only 15 percent of Republicans when matched up against Scott in last weeks poll. With the battle against McCollum now three years old and things getting better in Florida, Republicans are increasingly getting behind Scott just in time for 2014.
As Scott heads into the next election, he has plenty of work to do and challenges to overcome. But Scott should be able to keep Republicans behind him, freeing him to battle Democrats for the independent vote in 2014.
Tallahassee political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis exclusively for Sunshine State News.
