Scott hiring McCollum’s insider fundraising team

TALLAHASSEE — In the final weeks of his successful gubernatorial primary, Republican Ri ck Scott spared no opportunity to lambaste primary foe Bill McCollum for taking big checks from “Tallahassee insiders” and “special interests” — including U.S. Sugar, Publix Supermarkets, Progress Energy, Florida Power & Light, and even Walt Disney World. But now that he’s the party standard-bearer, Scott is wasting no time in embracing both the party leaders who arranged to finance McCollum’s campaign, as well as the Republican insiders and check-bundlers who actually raised that money. Today, he is headlining meet-and-greets in Tampa and Orlando with two of the men he bashed in connection with their behind-the-scenes handling of the Jim Greer scandal, and who were funneling big checks into defeating him in last week’s election — Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolos and House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon . Scott has already met with dozens

of lobbyists and informed them he would rather raise cash through their client lists and traditional party donors, but would be willing to self-finance, too, if it’s needed. Scott poured $50 million of his family’s wealth into his primary. And one of the first orders of business at Scott’s campaign headquarters last week was to hire up all of McCollum’s state-party-financed fundraising team, so he could essentially implement McCollum’s general election fundraising plan and not have to self-finance his general election contest against Democrat Alex Sink . The names of the Tallahassee or party-tied folks folding into the Scott campaign as of Friday, we’re told, is headlined by uber-RPOF money man David Browning, former Charlie Crist and Republican Party of Florida finance guru Meredith O’Rourke, Carrie O’Rourke, Gretchen Picotte and Bridget Nocco.

Read the rest here: 
Scott hiring McCollum’s insider fundraising team

Leave a comment

Name (required)

E-mail (required)

URI

Your Message