One-on-one with Rick Scott: The GOP Primary presidential race, his tenure in Washington
TAMPA, Fla. - U.S. Senator Rick Scott is beginning 2024 with a run to extend his time in Washington by another six years. Along with the presidential race, Florida voters will weigh in on his tenure in the Senate, which began in 2019.
FOX 13's Evan Axelbank sat down with Scott, who not only endorsed former President Donald Trump in the GOP Primary but said the race is over even before anyone has caucused or voted.
"On the presidential race, do any candidates on the GOP side – not named Donald Trump – still have a chance?" Axelbank asked.
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"No," the senator responded.
Scott argued the economy will be the biggest issue. Despite a stock market that recently hit a record, inflation being at its lowest level since Spring 2021, unemployment at under 4% and gas prices in Florida having fallen to $3.05 a gallon, he insists the president will be vulnerable because of the types of jobs being created, and costs haven't returned to where they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We don't have a robust, full-time job creation. We have a robust part-time job creation," Scott said. "What's happened to grocery prices? They're way up. Gas prices since Biden got in. They're up. Housing prices, rent, everything. Health care. Everything has skyrocketed."

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Having visited Israel five times since he became Florida's governor in 2010, the senator has taken a strong interest in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Given he is personally wealthy, he has donated his salary to three Jewish or Holocaust remembrance centers around the state, including the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg.
"If you're in Israel, they're scared for the existence of Israel," Scott said. "Here people are worried. They're worried to go out. They're worried about being targeted. I've talked to college students. They're scared to death of just walking to class."
He also urges senate leaders to take up a standalone bill that would fund the Israeli military, though the president and GOP leader Mitch McConnell have pushed to include funding for Ukraine.
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"The only the way I'll support Ukraine aid is if we have a plan that says that Ukraine aid is completely tied on monthly basis to the number of people crossing our border, and it goes down to the Trump levels," Scott said.
The senator is likely to run against Miami-area Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who promises to talk about reproductive freedom and Scott's initial proposal to re-examine Federal programs like Medicare and Social Security.
Scott is confident he'll be headed back to Washington.