As battle for control of the U.S. Senate heats up, activists assail Nelson and Scott

Retirees say Scott is no friend while prolife teens say Nelson must go

James Call
Tallahassee Democrat
Dave Jacobsen and other AFSCME retirees say Scott used the state pension fund to benefit his political allies

Two street corners along Adams Street framed the battle for control of the U.S. Senate Thursday.

Retirees gathered at the dolphins statue in front of the state Capitol to bash Gov. Rick Scott’s handling of their pension fund while pro-life teenagers a half mile away at the federal courthouse waved signs threatening to vote Sen. Bill Nelson out of office.

Republicans hold a 51 – 49 advantage in the U.S. Senate but fear losing control of Congress. Scott’s challenge of Nelson is one of their best chances to flip a Democratic seat and protect the Trump agenda this November.

Supporters of both candidates stuck to scripts they said illustrate their opponent was out of step with the majority of Floridians, according to one camp, or working people, per the other.

“It’s going to be a long hot summer,” said professor Matthew Corrigan, University of North Florida Political Science chair, discussing the street theater occurring in Tallahassee.

“Government workers is a difficult issue to get a broader audience interested, but pro-life is a tenet of the Republican Party,” he observed about the two groups active in the Senate campaign.

David Jacobsen, head of the Northwest Florida AFSCME Retired State Workers, called for an investigation of Scott for chairing a political action committee that accepted contributions from pension management firms.

The Florida Retirement System generated more than $3 million in fees for two firms last year that sent more than $50,000 to the New Republican PAC when Scott was the chair. Jacobsen and others say the contributions suggest Scott directed state business to his benefit.

A group of Tallahassee 19 and 20 year-olds answered a call by the Susan B Anthony List to protest Sen. Bill Nelson's pro-choice voting record

“If he’ll play politics with our pensions as governor, we can only imagine what he would do to Social Security if he’s in the Senate,” said Jacobsen. “He took our hard-earned pension money and is doing quid pro quo stuff with it.”

Florida directed FRS investments to the firms in question before Scott was elected governor. Securities, campaign finance and ethics laws do not directly address a situation in which an official chairs a PAC that accepts donations from companies with business before the state and then becomes a candidate that accepts contributions from the PAC.

While Jacobsen and a handful of retirees fumed at Scott, up the street, about 20 teen voters in blue shirts and khakis waved signs to condemn Nelson’s pro-choice record.

“He has an extreme record on abortion and voters need to be aware of his votes in the U.S. Senate,” said Sue Swayze Liebel of the Susan B. Anthony List, which is organized for the 2018 campaign in eight states. Liebel said it has mobilized an army of millennial voters to go door-to-door and talk about life issues. The pro-life group out of Virginia is targeting “low-propensity, pro-life voters” to make the November electorate more favorable to GOP candidates.

“Nelson is so out of step with voters here in Florida. We’re going to expose his record and get them out in November,” said Liebel. “He has voted to send taxpayers’ dollars to the largest abortion business in America – Planned Parenthood.”

Sue Swayze Liebel, r, of the Susan B. Anthony List says the group has recruited millenials, like Benton James of Tallahassee to go door-to-door in 2018

A Real Clear Politics average of four polls, taken before Scott announced his candidacy this month, gives Nelson a 3.8 point lead. Scott has come from behind to claim a one-point victory in two gubernatorial campaigns.

The race is attracting national attention with signs of a building blue wave and members of the Trump coalition realizing a Democratic Senate’s ability to reject presidential appointees is a threat to its agenda.

“It’s going to be a very intense campaign. A full-court press of tough, in-your-face accusations right up until November,” said UNF's Corrigan.

Contact James Call at jcall@tallahassee.com.