Florida Democrats announced they are gathering candidates to fight Sen. Bill Nelson in a party primary, according to a Wednesday report from Politico.
Party leadership approached three high-profile Democrats about opposing the 74-year-old senator; law professor Tim Canova, State Sen. Randolph Bracey, and former senate candidate Pam Keith.
“I’m not sure how strong Nelson will be in the general election this time around, and a number of folks trying to convince me to run think Rick Scott will have his way with Bill Nelson,” Canova told Politico.
Not all Democrats support the move. Fundraiser Ben Pollara called the decision “insane.”
“If Democrats are lining up to primary Bill Nelson, it’s less a sign that Bill Nelson is weak and more of a sign that Democrats are inherently cannibals,” Pollara said. “Bill Nelson is the only one with a track record of winning in this state for Democrats. He’s proof positive that what he’s doing works.”
Pollara potentially has a good point. Nelson currently enjoys a 52 percent approval rating statewide, higher than Sen. Marco Rubio’s 46 percent approval rating, and he won his senate race against Rep. Patrick Murphy in 2016.
The prospective challenger is Gov. Rick Scott, who will be out of office in time for the 2018 election, and Scott polls far behind the incumbent senator. Nelson earned 51 percent of the poll, and Scott took the rear with 36 percent, despite overwhelming name recognition.
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