When the Senate GOP’s campaign chief Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) released an election-year platform that proposed raising taxes on millions and putting Social Security and Medicare up for negotiation every five years, many Republicans would have been happy to toss it into a Capitol fireplace, light the match, and never speak of it again.
Publicly, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) slammed the plan—while Scott stood nearby at a press conference—and privately, GOP strategists said the plan was toxic for their party in the upcoming midterm elections.
But it’s not all bad for Scott, the ambitious former Florida governor and potential 2024 presidential hopeful. His ideas have quietly gotten some love from an important audience: prominent Republicans who are running for Senate.