Democrats hit Scott over agenda in new ads

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is out with a new set of ads knocking Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) over a recently released memo laying out what he thinks the GOP agenda should be if Republicans recapture control of the Senate this year.

The four-figure digital ad buy is set to begin running on Saturday in the Villages, Fla., ahead of Scott’s speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla.

“Rick Scott and the Republican Party have made their agenda crystal clear: they want to raise taxes on over half of Americans – including seniors and retirees – without offering a single proposal to lower costs for hardworking families,” Allyson Bayless, a spokeswoman for the DNC, said in a statement.

“This is the Republican Party’s official platform, and the DNC will use every resource at our disposal to make sure voters know exactly what Republicans stand for,” she added.

Scott’s 31-page memo, which he released on Tuesday, offers a glimpse of his vision for what a Republican majority in the Senate might pursue. Among the ideas outlined in the memo is a call for all Americans to pay at least some income tax. 

The plan was met with immediate criticism from Democrats, who accused Scott of pushing for new taxes for low-income Americans. But the memo also received some criticism from Republicans, who have sought to make the 2022 midterm elections a referendum on Democratic control of Washington. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) notably declined last year to release an agenda ahead of the midterms.