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“National Rick Scott Committee:” Scott’s Self-Serving Political Ambitions Dominate His Role As NRSC Chair

A brutal new Washington Post report takes a deep dive into Rick Scott’s “complicated” role at the NRSC and “how Scott’s interests as the leader of the party campaign committee and his interests as a potential presidential candidate might diverge.” 

GOP operatives are referring to NRSC as the “National Rick Scott Committee,” while a top advisor counseled him against taking the position, noting “it wasn’t shaping up to be an especially favorable year for Republicans, with many more GOP seats at stake than Democratic ones.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 

The Washington Post: Rick Scott navigates Trump, winning back the Senate — and his own ambitions 
By Mike Debonis
April 18, 2021 

Key Points: 

  • When Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) handed former president Donald Trump the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s first ever “Champion for Freedom Award” this month at Trump’s Palm Beach resort, it was a demonstration of Trump’s power inside the GOP, his importance to the party’s quest to win the Senate majority, and Scott’s own complicated role in between.
  • Some GOP operatives have privately snickered that NRSC now stands for the “National Rick Scott Committee.”
  • There are still open concerns about how Scott’s interests as the leader of the party campaign committee and his interests as a potential presidential candidate might diverge.
  • No decision has raised quite as many eyebrows as his announcement that the NRSC will not engage in open Republican primaries…This has prompted fears that a well-funded party organ would stand on the sidelines as GOP voters nominate potentially toxic candidates who could lose to Democrats.
  • Tensions have surfaced inside the Senate GOP — such as at a briefing Scott led at NRSC headquarters late last month for 2022 incumbents. After delivering a presentation on the political landscape, Scott asked the senators in attendance: Is there anything I can do for you?
  • According to two people familiar with the meeting, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a moderate who voted to impeach Trump earlier this year and who has been a frequent target of the former president, spoke up with a request: Could I please get an endorsement?
  • To those who recalled the exchange, it was an uncomfortable moment that placed Scott’s role as an advocate for his GOP colleagues in conflict with his role in courting Trump.
  • Anderson said he gave Scott multiple reasons not to pursue the NRSC post last year as he was deciding whether to do it. The fundraising, recruiting and travel are an immense time commitment, he pointed out, and it wasn’t shaping up to be an especially favorable year for Republicans, with many more GOP seats at stake than Democratic ones.

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