Scott says media ‘vultures’ trying to divide GOP amid scrutiny over Senate strategy

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), said “vultures” in the media are trying to divide Republicans after multiple national outlets published stories detailing a feud between Scott and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

“As is predictable for this time of year, the vultures in the left-wing news media — The Washington Post, NY Times, CNN and the like — are roaming about trying to divide and defeat Republicans,” Scott wrote to the NRSC’s email distribution list. 

“As always, they are being aided by the typical Washington ‘anonymous sources’ whose cowardice is only exceeded by their ignorance,” he continued.

In recent months, McConnell and Scott have levied criticism against one another about the party’s campaign strategy that has only grown as the party’s chances of flipping the Senate in November appear to shrink.

“The fact is that Republicans are on the verge of taking over both the Senate and the House, and the left is panicking,” Scott said in the email.

Earlier this year, Scott introduced a controversial policy agenda for if Republicans took control of the chamber. Republican senators previously said McConnell warned Scott at a February leadership meeting that his agenda would become a political liability.    

The agenda, dubbed “Rescue America,” included proposals that Democrats, who quickly attacked the plan, said would potentially sunset programs like Social Security and Medicare.

In August, McConnell noted that Republicans have a better chance of flipping the House than the Senate in this year’s midterms, citing concerns over “candidate quality.”

The remark came after several candidates backed by former President Trump won Republican nominations in key Senate battlegrounds like Pennsylvania, Nevada and Ohio. 

McConnell has long stressed the importance of electable nominees, but the NRSC stayed out of this year’s primaries. Scott acknowledged to Politico late last month that he and McConnell had a “strategic disagreement,” arguing the party had “great candidates.”

Scott in his latest email called NRSC primary involvement an “urban legend.”

“This year, because President Trump endorsed in many primaries, some of the self-appointed smart guys in Washington demanded that I insert the NRSC into primaries against his candidates,” Scott said. “This would have meant spending dollars raised by Republican donors against Republican candidates.”

Scott has also come under criticism for taking a vacation to Italy last month and his expensive attempt to expand the NRSC’s online donor pool.

In the email, Scott pushed back on those attacking the new strategy, saying the initiative “undoubtedly produces a tremendous return on investment” and noting it has already netted more than $11 million and will be more valuable in the future.

“Democrats have consistently outraised Republicans in digital fundraising,” he wrote. “This had to change – and the only way to change it was to make early investments to get new donors, which we did and it worked.”

A New York Times analysis found that Scott’s NRSC raised $181.5 million by the end of July but spent 95 percent of it, leaving the committee with far less cash on hand than Senate Democrats’ campaign arm. 

In the email, Scott acknowledged that the NRSC spent over $45 million in advertising prior to Labor Day, but argued the early spending was “crucial.”

“Many of our candidates finished bruising primaries with no money in the bank,” Scott wrote. “The NRSC helped our candidates with early ads, and we’re proud that nearly every candidate ad that was on the air this summer had assistance from the NRSC. We will continue to do this through election day.”