Rubio did say, “I’ll support the Republican nominee,” the sort of answer that almost nearly mirrors his tepid public support in 2016 of then-GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. | AP Photo/Andrew Wardlow Rubio: 'I don't campaign against Bill Nelson'

TALLAHASSEE — As Florida’s Republican establishment prepares to rally around Gov. Rick Scott in his forthcoming bid to knock of Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, one of the state’s most well-known Republicans does not seem poised to help lead the charge: Sen. Marco Rubio.

“I don’t campaign against Bill Nelson,” Rubio said Tuesday during a sit-down with reporters in his Tallahassee office. “Bill Nelson and I have a very good working relationship.”


Rubio’s tone is not the type that would normally be expected as the political camps on both sides of the aisle start to ramp up in advance of the likely midterm elections clash between Scott and Nelson. There are few Republicans around the state who, when asked, would not tick off the talking points that have defined Scott’s eight years in office.

Rubio said he will “support the GOP nominee, and if Scott runs it’s going to be him. And he’ll do a good job in the Senate.

He called his relationship with Scott “positive,” and said that he thought he would have a good relationship with Scott if the two were in Washington together in the Senate. But he noted that with Nelson he “could not ask for a better partner, especially from the other party.“

“I don’t work as close with him [Scott] because he’s a state official, and I’m a federal official,” Rubio said.

He pointed to health care reform as an issue where the two have worked well together.

Rubio and Scott have a thorny political history.

During the 2016 Republican presidential primary campaign, while stopping short of an endorsement, Scott praised then GOP candidate Donald Trump for speaking his mind and tapping into Americans' frustration with the state of government and their country in a USA Today op-ed published two months before the Florida presidential primary.

When Rubio dropped out to run for reelection to the Senate, Scott was one of the last Republicans to endorse him. And Scott continued to praise his longtime ally Carlos Beruff, who was in the race before Rubio decided to abandon his presidential bid.

The icy relationship is well known in Florida political circles between Rubio and Scott, whose top consultants, Virginia-based On Message, hit Rubio during the 2016 Senate primary.

“Well, can’t blame Rubio since it was Scott and his [On Message] team that fired off on Rubio with Beruff,” said one veteran GOP operative.

Nelson and Rubio have long had a working relationship, but it has become more high-profile in recent weeks as the two co-sponsored gun legislation following the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 dead, including 14 students.

Their so-called red flag bill would use federal Justice Department grants to incentivize states to create programs that include certain provisions, primarily allowing law enforcement or a family member to petition a court for a gun restraining order for someone who poses a risk to themselves or others. A court must then find “clear and convincing evidence” to issue an order, which can last up to 12 months.

Rubio said it’s a step he hopes Congress can digest faster than other controversial measures like increasing from 18 to 21 the age limit to purchase a military-style semiautomatic rifle. Legislation passed by the Republican-led Florida Legislature and signed into law by Scott last session included that age provision, which the National Rifle Association is challenging in federal court. That bill includes a variation of the “red flag” program, but does not allow family members to petition the court.

The two rolled out the bill hand-in-hand last week with a third Senate sponsor, Sen. Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island).

“I hope we can continue to work together on commonsense solutions, such as requiring universal background checks and getting assault rifles off our streets,” Nelson said in the joint statement.