With less than three weeks to go until Election Day and the race for Florida's Senate seat, Democratic challenger and former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is going on the offense in a new ad that depicts Sen. Rick Scott as a giant snake.
The new 30-second ad, simply titled "Snake," is a collaboration between the Mucarsel-Powell campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). The ad opens with a snake slithering through a tree to reveal the face of Scott in its head.
"Florida's biggest snake isn't living in the Everglades, he's in the Senate: Rick Scott," Mucarsel-Powell narrates.
The ad largely focuses on Scott's time as Senator, skipping his tenure as the Sunshine State's governor.
"He stole money from seniors in the biggest Medicare fraud ever. Then Scott slid into the Senate, where he wrote the plan to end Social Security, raise your taxes, and ban abortion," the ad continues. "Rick Scott's a slippery politician who's been ripping you off."
The spot is the latest effort by Mucarsel-Powell to make inroads with voters in one of the most hotly-contested Senate races in the country. Her efforts may be allowing her to connect with voters.
According to a memo published by the former Representative's campaign manager Ben Waldon, "Public opinion research conducted by Global Strategy Group from October 2-6 shows that Mucarsel-Powell's advertisements are breaking through. When asked to describe any negative things they're heard or seen about Rick Scott, Florida voters overwhelmingly mentioned the terms 'Social Security,' 'Medicare,' and 'abortion.'"
Scott, on the other hand, is pushing back by highlighting his trajectory handling natural disasters as Florida recovers from two major Hurricanes, Helene and Milton.
The 30-second ad, titled "Leadership," features several Florida Sheriffs touting Scott's work. Many of those clips appeared in a prior ad produced after Helene, and include praise from officers like Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno and Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook.
"Sen. Scott's calling before, during and after," says Pasco County Sheriff Chirs Nocco about Scott's handling of hurricanes. "I can tell you he's the first phone call we always get. If there's a hurricane, if there's an issue that goes on."
The ads come as the Senate race remains close, but with the Republican incumbent maintaining a lead.
A recent New York Times/Siena College poll sees Scott with a 9 percentage point lead, at 49% to Mucarsel-Powell's 40%. Similarly, in a polling average of 30 surveys by Decision Desk HQ and The Hill, Scott leads Mucarsel-Powell by 3.7 percentage points at 46.7% to 43%.
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