US Senator Rick Scott is considering an unexpected and dramatic entry into the 2024 presidential race, according to The New York Timesa decision that would put him in direct competition in a Republican primary with former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the senator’s successor to the governor.
But Scott and his political team deny the report, insisting he is running for re-election to the US Senate.
“It is flattering that some have mentioned the possibility of Senator Scott running for president, but as he has said many times, he is running for re-election to the Senate,” Chris Hartline, Scott’s senior adviser, said in a statement in Miami . Herald.
When reached for comment, Curt Anderson, Scott’s longtime political adviser, pointed to Hartline’s denial on the record, saying he had nothing more to add. And Scott himself, when he asked at the US Capitol, reiterated that he was running for re-election to a second term in the Senate.
The New York Times report cited two unnamed sources familiar with Scott’s deliberations as saying he was considering a late entry into the race. His campaign would come amid growing doubts about the viability of DeSantis’ campaign, which has struggled to make headway against front-runner Trump despite polls showing him the second-highest support among Republican voters.
Scott is the state’s former two-term governor, serving from 2011 to 2019. He first won election to the Senate in 2018.
Scott, whose personal wealth has helped finance his campaigns in Florida, was widely seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2022 when he was chairman of the politically influential National Republican Senatorial Committee. But the GOP’s unexpected failure to regain majority control of the US Senate appeared to dampen his aspirations, and the senator announced earlier this year that he would run for re-election.
Republicans expressed widespread skepticism about a possible Scott White House bid, arguing there is little, if any, room for him to enter the already crowded primary field. Trump leads the contest by wide margins, according to most available polls, and DeSantis is widely considered the second choice.
“He has a lot to offer, but there’s no path to win the nomination given the Trump factor and Ron DeSantis being No. 2,” said Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist and former congressional candidate. “Too many candidates and not enough donors.”
Scott has also said he will seek re-election to his Senate seat in 2024 and, at least for now, is seen as the heavy favorite in that race. He already has a proven ability to self-finance his campaign, and Democrats have yet to find a clear challenger for his seat.
“With the obvious caveat of this we’ll have to wait and see, nobody jumps into a race because they see the possibility of second and third place,” said another strategist, Doug Heye.
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Scott would be the fourth Floridian to announce his run for the White House in 2024, joining Trump, DeSantis and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who launched his campaign last week.
