ICYMI: Fellow Republican Hits Rick Scott On His Recession – Half of Florida Counties Lost Jobs

A new report in Politico highlights how Republican state Sen. Tom Lee “swipes at Scott’s jobs record.” From the report:

“Of Florida’ 67 counties, 36 have fewer jobs than they did before the recession. For Scott, that’s bad. He won those mostly rural, Republican-leaning counties by roughly 130,000 votes in 2014. If Scott’s foes can use the message to chip away at Scott’s jobs theme, it could matter in a state with notoriously thin statewide election margins (Scott in two elections never won with more than 49 percent of the vote). That’s where Lee, running against Scott-supported CFO Jimmy Patronis, came in Monday during a meeting of the Constitution Revision Commission. “You have 36 counties today with less jobs than they did when they entered the recession,” Lee said, fully aware he was stirring up problems for his party’s likely U.S. Senate nominee.

In response, Sebastian Kitchen, Senior Spokesperson of the Florida Democratic Party issued the following statement:

“We are glad Republicans are starting to take notice of how Rick’s Recession and his self-serving politics are hurting Floridians. What Senator Lee failed to mention is that after 8 years of Scott’s leadership, working families throughout most of Florida are earning less today than before Scott came into office while he’s used his position as governor to enrich himself. Rick’s Scott’s economy may work for him and his wealthy donors – but it’s another reminder why Floridian’s don’t trust him to look out for anyone but himself.”