Rick Scott edges Bill Nelson to win U.S. Senate seat in tight, historic race
NAPLES Rick Scott did it again. Powered by a highly motivated Republican turnout and another $60 million from his vast personal fortune, Gov. Scott clinched a seat in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday and dislodged deeply entrenched Democrat Bill Nelson from office. Despite a record turnout for a Florida midterm election and widespread predictions of a Democratic “blue wave,” Scott won his third straight statewide election.Just before midnight, Scott declared victory on stage to chants of “Senator Scott.”“We can make change,” Scott said. “We did it over the last eight years in Tallahassee, we can do it in Washington, D.C.”Nelson conceded just after midnight. He did not speak publicly. As of midnight, Scott led Nelson by about 56,000 votes, strikingly close to his 2014 victory by 64,165. A supporter of tax cuts and President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court choices and a critic of Obamacare, Scott promises to be a reliable vote in support of Trump’s agenda. His victory ratifies ...
