Just when it looked like it would be a good two years before the next major election campaign , Gov. Rick Scott and former Gov. Charlie Crist are at it already.
Though he rarely mentions his name, Scott was pretty clearly campaigning against his predecessor this weekend on the CBS4 show, "Facing South Florida With Jim DeFede." And Crist is losing no opportunities to tell potential voters how he objected and even blocked Republiucan voter law changes, signed into law by Scott, that ultimately turned ordinary ballot-casting into an endurance challenge on election day.
Scott's been saying he has a better record on jobs and the economy than Crist. According to the governor, 825,000 jobs were lost during Crist's single term in office.
And Republicans apparently are loading up to make Crist's party-switch a major campaign issue. Marc Caputo is following developments in the Miami Herald:
"Crist wants Democrats to forget his GOP history and he wants the rest of voters to forget how he cratered Florida's economy. We don't intend to let him get away with either," (Republican Party spokesman Brian) Burgess said. To that end, the party has repeatedly noted the "two faces of Charlie Crist." But just framing an opponent as a flip-flopper can backfire. Paradoxically, voters can trust flip-flopping candidates if they believe he's ultimately on their side.
Scott has already raised $5 million for his 2014 campaign, and that's expected to grow to $20 million over the next few months
