Amid a recount of Florida's election for U.S. Senator, Republican Governor Rick Scott and Democratic Incumbent Bill Nelson are trading barbs on the national stage. At the same time, a number of advocates on both sides are lending their voices to the candidates.
New York U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer went to bat for fellow Democrat Nelson Tuesday, and hours later Oklahoma Republican Congressman Francis Rooney took up for Scott. The two echoed almost exactly the arguments coming from their respective parties over the past week. Schumer denounced Scott and President Donald Trump’s accusations of election fraud against blue counties like Broward.
“Trump and Scott are attempting to bully the election officials in Florida out of doing their jobs, in an attempt to win this election,” Schumer said. “It’s just plain wrong.”
In a statement responding to Schumer’s Washington, D.C. appearance alongside Nelson, the Scott campaign said Schumer is using the incumbent “as a pawn and dragging his legacy through the mud in an effort to change election laws ahead of 2020.”
Despite calls from people like Schumer to stop election fraud allegations, Congressman Rooney seemed to do just that.
“I’m convinced that if we just follow the law and count the legal ballots – but only the legal ballots – Rick Scott’s going to be the next Senator from Florida,” Rooney said. “And we can’t let this thing become mired in corruption.”
A manual recount is expected, with Scott leading Nelson by a margin of less than a quarter of a percent.
