Republican candidate for Florida governor Rick Scott, who spent close to $50 million to buy his party’s nomination in the recent primary, is reportedly having trouble finding a running mate, although he may be close to convincing someone to come on the ticket after all, sources say.
Rep. Jennifer Carroll, the Legislature’s lone black Republican, is likely to be Rick Scott’s running mate.
Carroll is a Navy Veteran who quite recently in the Legislature has called for job-creation proposals and cutting state regulation, issues that have informed Scott’s campaign, reports the News Service of Florida.
But disgraced executive Scott has had a difficult time convincing someone to be his running mate.
Many assumed that Senator Paula Dockery would be Scott’s Lieutenant Governor, but she wasn’t interested. Then there were others who seemed to be running away from Scott. From Rep. Anitere Flores to University of North Florida President John Delaney, to State Rep. Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton). Rep. Mike Weinstein, a Jacksonville Republican, who broke with many of his other colleagues and supported Scott in the primary, also declined the offer.
Scott, a former health care executive, has had to defend the largest Medicare fraud in U.S. history that Columbia/HCA Healthcare, the company he managed as its CEO. He defines the $1.7 billion fine which Columbia/HCA Healthcare paid to the government as, “mistakes.”
Meanwhile, Alex Sink, the Democratic nominee for Florida governor has said that she will press Scott in the upcoming months to reveal what he did know about the fraud which his former company carried out when he was its CEO. Sink also said that Floridians deserve answers prior to the November elections.
Scott has until Thursday to name his running mate.
