Rick Scott, a Republican worth $232 million, and two committees supporting his bid raised just over $20 million last quarter, according to new campaign finance reports. | AP Photo Democrats fret as Scott's cash haul comes into full view

TALLAHASSEE — Democrats up and down the midterm ticket in Florida are starting to worry as they look at the green wave of cash that Florida Gov. Rick Scott is taking in for his U.S. Senate campaign.

"He’s putting up the type of numbers that can tilt the whole playing field,” said state Rep. Evan Jenne, a Democrat from deep blue Broward County.


The nationally watched Senate race is pitting two-term governor Scott, a Republican, against incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). Scott, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has a deluge of cash support from his official campaign and from outside groups that are helping fund it.

The surge to Scott’s campaign, as documented in new campaign finance reports, puts stress on national Democrats eager to knock him off. Groups like the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee are fighting Senate battles in swing states across the country, but will need to keep serious resources in Florida to help counter Scott’s spending.

Scott, a Republican worth $232 million, and two committees supporting his bid raised just over $20 million last quarter, according to new campaign finance reports. That number does not include the personal money Scott has likely put into his campaign, a number that has not yet been reported.

Scott’s official campaign alone raised $10.7 million, a massive quarterly haul, according to campaign finance reports filed this week.

New Republican, a super PAC backing Scott that can’t coordinate directly with the campaign, raised $7 million last quarter, while the Rick Scott Victory Committee, a committee that has joint fundraising agreements with both his official campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, raised more than $3 million. Of that, $800,000 was transferred to Scott’s official campaign, and $2.2 million was transferred to the NRSC, which will likely use the money to boost Scott’s race.

It’s a massive fundraising network that has helped Scott dwarf Nelson’s fundraising efforts, which have been the highest since he came to the Senate in 2000. Nelson raised $4.4 million over the last three months, his best quarterly haul.

Leading the way for Scott was Ken Griffin, who heads Chicago-based global investment firm Citadel and is worth an estimated $8 billion. He leads the national finance team for New Republican, but also kicked in $5 million in personal money to the super PAC, its largest contribution.

Much of the other five- and six-figure contributions came from a somewhat familiar list of GOP donors, many of whom are not new to Scott’s political orbit. That includes $203,600 total from private prison giant The Geo Group, its top executive George Zoley, and his wife, Donna; August Busch, the great-grandson of Anheuser-Busch founder Adolphus Busch, gave the super PAC $200,000; Lawrence DeGeorge, a Palm Beach County businessman, gave nearly $190,000 total to both committees; and $100,000 last quarter came from The Villages, a sprawling, politically connected retirement community in central Florida.

The cash is being used to fund political operations, including polling and efforts to dig up dirt on Nelson. During the last quarter, New Republican, the super PAC backing Scott, spent $35,000 with America Rising, a Washington-based group that drums up research on Democratic candidates.

“Funny, no matter how many times you saw the guy will have unlimited money, it doesn't inure you from the shock when said money start showing up,” said a veteran Democratic consultant working on active Florida races. Many Democrats did not want to speak on the record to avoid the appearance they were bashing their party’s only statewide elected official.

New Republican has also spent $4.9 million on TV ads. Those ads, which hammer Nelson, serve to amplify the message being crafted by the official campaign. In this case, it’s painting Nelson, who has been in elected office for nearly 40 years, as a “career politician."

“There should be,” Jenne said when asked is his party should be concerned about Scott’s money.

During the 2018 midterms, Jenne’s focus is on helping Democrats get elected to the Florida House, but with so much money flowing to a high-profile general election fight at the top of the ticket, there is some concern that Scott could affect down ticket races as state Democrats hope a “blue wave” can help them chip into the GOP’s dominance in the state Legislature.

Others, though, say Scott’s money was expected. The new campaign finance reports should not enhance anxiety, they argue, because Scott was always expected to have unlimited funds, and Nelson remains close in most public polling even though his campaign has spent a fraction of what Scott’s side has.

“It’s another rich guy at the top of the ticket,” said one Democrat working to elect down ticket candidates. “Scott and Republicans will put all that money on TV, and that’s just fine with me.”