Bitter Feud Heats Up Between Florida's Top Republicans

While half of the states have Republicans in control of the legislature and the governor's office, unified GOP control doesn't mean it's easy to push through an agenda. Florida is a prime example, where a public feud is unfolding between two state leaders as the annual legislative session gets underway.

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The Republican Party is at a high watermark across the country. The GOP controls the White House and Congress and the legislatures and governors offices in 25 states. But unified control isn't the same as unity. Consider Florida. As Gina Jordan of member station WLRN reports, Tallahassee is the scene of an increasingly bitter feud among the state's top Republicans.

GINA JORDAN, BYLINE: Speaker of the House Richard Corcoran and Governor Rick Scott should be close allies. Instead, they're producing campaign-style videos criticizing each other's policies.

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UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Hundreds of local jobs lost, millions in taxpayer money wasted in a bankruptcy that leaves a big hole on the Treasure Coast.

JORDAN: This video produced on Corcoran's behalf showcases failed businesses that received the kind of state tax breaks that Scott has aggressively promoted. Corcoran wants to cut back the state's support for private businesses. Scott's political action committee fired back with a Facebook video that accused Corcoran of being a career politician who delivers fake news.

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UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: So what exactly are the Tallahassee politicians up to now - trying to kill our tourism industry. Let's look at their false attacks, and note, none of your tax dollars were spent making this rebuttal.

JORDAN: This fight has divided the state Republican Party at a time when lawmakers are trying to tackle big issues like education funding and property taxes. Governor Scott has been touring the state and calling out Republicans in their districts if they side with Corcoran.

RICK SCOTT: What happens when 44 percent of the homes are underwater on their mortgage? That was - the day I got elected in 2010, that's where we were. Why in God's green Earth would anybody think we should go back to that?

JORDAN: Scott is a former health care executive who believes the state should use tax incentives to bring in more jobs.

SCOTT: How can anybody say, oh, this investment where we get that significant return, we don't want to keep doing that? I mean, the only thing this could be would be politics. You would never think this way in business.

JORDAN: For his part, Corcoran opened the legislative session...

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JORDAN: ...Emphasizing that this is a disagreement about policy.

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RICHARD CORCORAN: I'm not saying it's going to be easy. Debate can be intense, especially when you're dealing with people's lives. But we can be passionate about these issues and never, ever, ever get personal.

JORDAN: Mac Stipanovich is a longtime political consultant and Republican lobbyist in Tallahassee who says this level of bickering among top leaders in Florida is unprecedented.

MAC STIPANOVICH: Corcoran reached out and stuck his finger into the most sensitive spot the governor has, which is economic incentives that allegedly create jobs. He couldn't have done anything else more provocative.

JORDAN: Stipanovich says this is what happens when one party controls the whole government. The big disagreements happen inside the party. He says it's not that different from what's happening in Washington.

STIPANOVICH: You have the Republicans in charge of both houses of Congress and a Republican in the White House. Yet, they are straining to bring forward a repeal and replace on Obamacare.

JORDAN: For now, lawmakers are still debating whether to give Scott more money for tax breaks to draw businesses. But he'll be able to veto anything they send him. Both men have ambitions for higher office, and the outcome of this fight could determine who stays in the public eye for years to come. For NPR News, I'm Gina Jordan in Tallahassee.

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