Sen. Bill Nelson wants Gov. Rick Scott to support specifically his legislation that would extend the ban until 2027. | AP Photo Nelson challenges Scott to support bill extending Gulf oil drilling ban

TALLAHASSEE — Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) is calling on Gov. Rick Scott, his likely Republican opponent for reelection, to support his legislation extending a ban on drilling in federal waters off Florida's Gulf Coast.

Scott's office already has said the governor supports extending the ban, which is set to expire in 2022. But Nelson wants Scott to support specifically his legislation, S. 74 (115), that would extend the ban until 2027.


“If Rick Scott really wanted to protect Florida’s coasts, beaches and the military, he would support legislation I've introduced to extend the moratorium on drilling off our beaches," Nelson said in a statement through his campaign.

A spokesman for the governor said in January that Scott supports extending the moratorium but didn't respond specifically to whether he supports the legislation.

And on Friday, a Scott campaign spokesman told the Tampa Bay Times that the governor supports the ban extending 125 miles out into the Gulf, which is less than the 125 miles to 235-mile distance provided now in federal law. Scott is the likely Republican candidate because he faces only token opposition in the GOP primary.

Asked whether the governor supports Nelson's legislation, Ryan Patmintra, a Scott campaign spokesman, told POLITICO, "The governor successfully fought to get Florida completely removed from consideration for offshore drilling, so I think his position on this issue is clear."

A Nelson campaign spokeswoman referred POLITICO to the campaign's press release when asked whether statement by the spokesman for the governor's office in January was enough support from Scott for the moratorium.

This past January, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke proposed drilling off both of Florida's coasts. After meeting with Scott, Zinke said the proposal was "off the table" because of the governor's opposition.

While the turnaround was cast by some as a victory for Scott, Nelson called it a "political stunt" and warned Floridians to remain wary.

Rep. Kathy Castor (R-Fla.) earlier this week criticized Zinke and Scott for not pressuring House leaders to vote on the ban after she said the blocked the measure.

Patmintra responded Thursday that he didn't know whether Scott had contacted members of Congress. And he asked why Nelson "waited until an election year" to request the ban.

"He had a supermajority in Congress from 2008-2010 and a president of his own party for eight years," Patmintra said.

Actually, S. 74 was filed by Nelson in January 2017.

On Friday, Nelson's campaign statement pointed to an earlier news report that Scott had traveled to Texas to ask for campaign donations from oil and gas interests.

"Rick Scott will do or say anything to get elected, but these election-year gimmicks and playing politics with our environment and national security are dangerous and put Florida's economy at risk," Nelson said.

Patmintra responded that while Scott supports the ban, "What he does not support are opportunist, ineffective career politicians who wait until an election year to finally try and tackle this issue and when they fail, use it as a political issue."

Earlier this year, the Florida House and Senate passed memorials calling for an indefinite extension of the ban. The Florida Defense Support Task Force in 2017 called for a "united front" in Florida in support of extending the ban.