Rick Scott’s latest ad, which ties GOP gubernatorial rival Bill McCollum to indicted former Florida Republican Party chairman Jim Greer, is making waves.
Haley Barbour, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, released a statement requesting the ad be pulled, according to Politico:
“The truth is that Bill McCollum’s leadership is part of what led to the removal of Jim Greer. This ad distorts the facts and was clearly created without any knowledge of what actually took place,” Barbour said. “It has no place in this primary. We ask Mr. Scott to pull this ad and move forward in the primary in a constructive manner.”
Scott is declining to comply with the request and is calling the statement another example of “DC Insiders Rallying to McCollum’s Defense to Preserve the Status Quo”:
“With all due respect to Chairman Barbour,” wrote Scott spokesman Jennifer Baker in a release, “Bill McCollum’s statements and actions in the Jim Greer scandal speak for themselves and have been widely documented in the media. For years, Jim Greer ran the state party into the ground and Bill McCollum enabled him every step of the way. […] Rick Scott is going to continue to tell the truth about the cover-up of Jim Greer’s actions and he doesn’t care if that makes every insider in the state and Washington, DC mad at him.”
Here’s the ad: