Scott uses governorship to advance Senate hopes

He is the candidate with everything to lose right now — and the public official with broad ability to influence the outcome of his own election.

Gov. Rick Scott’s dual roles highlight the conflict facing an important government figure with official duties that can directly impact his personal political ambitions.

In the coming days he and his staff will influence major decisions come in the likely recount of the his U.S. Senate race with incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson. Critically, he’s Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner’s boss and Scott is a member of the threemember state Elections Canvassing Commission, which is responsible for certifying the results of the election.

On Saturday, Detzner determines if machine recounts of ballots will be conducted in close elections. On Nov. 15, the

secretary of state determines if the margin is close enough to warrant a manual recount. On Nov. 20, the Elections Canvassing Commission meets to certify the results. Many of the recount rules are set in state law, but Scott has a role in how they’re carried out.

As more votes have been counted, and his lead lead over Nelson has narrowed, Scott has come down on the political side.

Reading for six minutes from a script, Scott spoke Thursday night as a candidate. He said he won the election and lashed out at out-of-state liberals and lawyers he said were trying to “Steal the electin.

In the same speech, he spoke as the governor of the state detailing a litany of problems he said have plagued the elections offices in Broward and Palm Beach counties, especially under the watch of Broward Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes. The governor said he was “asking” the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to immediately investigate what he said “may be rampant fraud.”

Scott’s action raised questions, including why he’s suddenly stepped up his concern after nearly eight years as governor – when his political future is at stake. “We’ve all seen the incompetence and irregularities in vote tabulations in Broward and Palm Beach for years,” Scott said. Earlier this year, Scott’s office said the Secretary of State’s Office would send election experts to Snipes office during the 2018 election season to “to ensure that all laws are followed.”

Democrats accused the governor of nakedly choosing his own personal interest over his responsibilities as governor. “Politically motivated & desperate,” U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, a Palm Beach County Democrat complained on Twitter.

Steve Geller, a Broward County commissioner and former Florida Senate Democratic leader, said using or threatening to sue the FDLE in this way “is a gross abuse of office and conflict of interest.”

So far, Scott has resisted a politically explosive action: suspending Snipes from office. Scott has broad authority to remove officials for multiple reasons, including misfeasance, malfeasance, neglect of duty, incompetence.

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Panhandle Republican who is a close adviser to Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis, said Friday that Scott should immediately suspend Snipes and Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Susan Bucher and place their offices “under receivership of the secretary of state.”

If Scott took that action, he’d likely be seen as directly acting to remove someone he views as an obstacle to his personal goals. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said a suspension isn’t wise — for now. But, he told reporters in a conference call, “once this is all done, [Snipes is] certainly a candidate for removal.”

One of Scott’s attorneys, Tim Cerio, said there was no consideration of suspending Snipes “at this time.”

In 2003, then-Gov. Jeb Bush removed Snipes’ predecessor, Miriam Oliphant, over botched elections, citing “proven, repeated and continuing failures” by Oliphant “to properly manage her office and take the most basic preparatory steps for the conduct of elections.”

Justin Sayfie, a Republican lawyer-lobbyist who splits his time between South Florida and Washington, D.C., said Scott was in a tough position trying to balance his responsibilities as governor and a candidate for office.

“It’s a challenge, because he’s both a governor and a candidate at the same time,” he said. Sayfie is intimately familiar with the pressures that come from those dual roles. He was an adviser to Gov. Jeb Bush during the 2000 presidential election when the governor’s brother, George W. Bush, was in a protracted postelection struggle over votes in Florida.

Sayfie said there’s a check on a governor who might be tempted to use his power to advance his political interests. “Obviously everything he does will be scrutinized at an extremely high level, so that kind of puts a check to some extent on his actions,” he said.

Kevin Wagner, a political scientist at Florida Atlantic University, said it’s a tricky balancing act. “Sometimes in when you’re in the middle of a campaign it can be hard.”

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