There are many gracious and grateful words in this concession speech from Bill McCollum. Hey, you know what’s missing? Any mention of Rick Scott, never mind any sense of “good luck.”
Statement by
BILL MCCOLLUM
On Florida’s Republican Gubernatorial Primary Election Results
“The votes today have been tallied and I accept the voters’ decision.”
“This race was one for the ages. No one could have anticipated the entrance of a multi-millionaire with a questionable past who shattered campaign spending records and spent more in four months than has ever been spent in a primary race here in Florida.
“While I was disappointed with the negative tone of the race, I couldn’t be more proud of our campaign and our supporters for fighting back against false and misleading advertising when we were down by double-digits.
“First, I want to thank my wife, Ingrid, and our entire family. I could not have made it this far without Ingrid’s unwavering love and support. I also want to thank the many Republican leaders who stood by our campaign and helped build our organization, especially Governor Jeb Bush, Commissioner Charlie Bronson, House Speaker Larry Cretul, Senate President Designate Mike Haridopolos, House Speaker Designate Dean Cannon and House Majority Leader Adam Hasner.
“Most importantly, I thank the hundreds of volunteers who put in time and hard work to get our message out. I am humbled and overwhelmed by their passion for our campaign and depth of their support.
“As I’ve said time and time again, this race was never about me, it’s about Floridians. My campaign was about our kids and grandkids, and making Florida a better place for them.
“My campaign for Governor may be over, but I remain committed to serving our state and serving out the rest of my term as Florida’s Attorney General. We will continue our fight against Obamacare, continue to support states’ rights and their authority to crack down on illegal immigration and fight for all Floridians.
“I love Florida, and I believe in the extraordinary people who have made it the greatest state in the country. There is nothing beyond our reach when we put trust in individuals and in free enterprise, not in government or bureaucracy. I will always remain committed to fighting for these core conservative principles.”
Maybe my mind will change come November, but Rick Scott has left a really bad taste in my mouth with his campaign. His ads were downright ugly and a truly nasty way to treat a upstanding member of the Republican party. If this is what we have to look forward to with more "outsiders" in elections I'm going to regret campaign season for a long time to come.
I will think long and hard before voting for Alex Sink, but at this point in America's politics, as a lifelong Republican I should not have to think about it at all.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMcCollum was "disappointed by the negative tone of the race"??? He started it! Every ad I saw from his campaign in the first half of his run was a slam against Scott, while Scott would tout his business accomplishments and his "outsider" status. I'd look at McCollum's ads and wonder, "This guy's been in government for over 30 years and he can't point any of his accomplishments as a reason to vote FOR him rather than AGAINST Scott?"
I firmly believe that McCollum stated gaining in the polls only when he toned down the attack ads and started telling people why they should vote FOR him. And I also believe that Scott began slipping when he started going negative on McCollum. Although I almost choked on my lunch when I saw McCollum's ad wherein he said, "...and I'm sure you're as tired of Rick Scott's attack ads as I am of being attacked." This from the guy who was all about the attack ads in the beginning of HIS campaign??
(Apparently the comments form doesn't support HTML italics tags, so I have to use uppercase fro emphasis.)
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