Former Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Gov. Rick Scott has "blood on his hands." | AP Photo Democratic super PAC ad slams Scott for 'doing nothing' about gun violence

LOS ANGELES — Lashing into Florida Gov. Rick Scott ahead of his likely Senate campaign, a Democratic super PAC on Saturday will start running digital ads yoking the Republican governor to the National Rifle Association and this week’s mass shooting in his state.

In the ad, paid for by former Sen. Barbara Boxer’s California-based PAC For A Change, text over a black and white image of Scott reads, “Florida Gov. Rick Scott offered only ‘thoughts and prayers’ after the latest tragic school shooting. No surprise.”


“Here you have a man who is lauded by the NRA, he’s an extremist on guns,” Boxer told POLITICO on Saturday. “You have a state that’s suffering from this gun violence and you’re doing nothing, nothing.”

She said, “This man has blood on his hands.”

Part of a small, online-only buy targeting Florida voters, the ad is likely to have minimal reach. But it reflects growing anxiety among Democrats nationally about the prospect of Scott challenging Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, one of the nation’s most vulnerable Democratic senators.

The ad highlights the NRA’s past support for Scott and asks, “Isn’t a child’s life worth more than that? Enough.”

Boxer’s PAC, which raised $1.7 million last year, is spending about $25,000 on the initial buy.

The criticism of Scott, which comes three days after the killing of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, refers to a tweet in which Scott wrote, “My thoughts and prayers are with the students, their families and the entire community.”

On Saturday, thousands of students, parents, teachers and others rallied in Fort Lauderdale, with speaker after speaker demanding that lawmakers in Tallahassee and Washington fight against the influential NRA and take action to stop gun violence.

Scott said Thursday that he plans to meet with state legislative leaders next week to have “a real conversation” about school safety and people with mental illnesses, who Scott said “should not have access to a gun.”

Florida maintains some of the nation's least restrictive gun laws, while Boxer hails from a state whose gun-control regulations rank among the most aggressive.

The ad is PAC For A Change’s fifth, since Boxer formed the group last year. The first four spots targeted Republican House members in California.