Rick L. Scott, founder of Conservatives for Patients’ Rights, is running for governor of Florida. He’ll be running against fellow GOPer and health care opponent Florida AG Bill McCollum. The below passage from Scott’s Web site suggests ObamaCare will be a big talking point:
In March 2009, Rick launched Conservatives for Patients’ Rights (CPR), an advocacy group dedicated to the free market principles of choice, competition, accountability and personal responsibility in health care. Modeling the organization after his own efforts in the industry, the goal of CPR was to prevent further government encroachment on the rights of patients. Seeded with $5 million from Rick, the group produced a thirty-minute documentary entitled Faces of Government-Run Health Care, which told the frustrating and tragic stories of Canadian and British patients who have languished under Canada’s Medicare and the UK’s National Health Service.
As President Obama’s government-run public option plan began to take shape, Rick directed CPR to focus specifically on stopping the public option plan, even as political groups launched attacks against Rick and the debate began to intensify.
In mid-August of 2009, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs complained to the White House Press Corps that Rick Scott and Conservatives for Patients Rights were fueling the momentum behind the August Tea Party rallies.
Here’s how the race is going sans Scott’s entry, per Rasmussen:
State Attorney General Bill McCollum maintains his double-digit advantage over Democrat Alex Sink in the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the Florida gubernatorial race.
McCollum’s current lead of 47% to 36% represents a very slight narrowing of his margin from February. At that time, he posted a 48% to 45% lead over Sink, who currently serves as the state’s chief financial officer. Five percent (5%) of likely voters in the state now prefer some other candidate in the race, and 12% are undecided.