US Senator Rick Scott announces new Veterans Coalition in Jacksonville

Florida Republican US Senator Rick Scott was in Jacksonville Tuesday to announce a new coalition aimed at shoring up the support of veterans ahead of the November election.

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Scott announced the new Veterans for Scott Coalition at veteran-owned Founding Fathers distillery.

Scott donned his classic Navy hat, which many Floridians likely remember him wearing while out handling hurricanes during his time as Governor.

The coalition, which aims to lock in veteran support for the Republican candidate, will be co-chaired by local city councilman and Navy veteran Nick Howland (R-Group 3 At-Large).

Scott highlighted his emphasis on military and veterans issues during his time as Florida Governor, along with his own and his father’s military service.

Scott served in the Navy in the 1970s.

“My goal was to make this a state that everybody wanted to serve in and everybody wanted to retire in. We have about 1.4 million veterans. I’ve been a US Senator for about five and a half years. I’m on Armed Services. We’re doing everything we can to make our military the place where people want to serve and they get treated fairly,” said Scott.

Scott may not be facing any serious challenge in the upcoming August Primary Election, but the presumptive Democratic nominee former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell told Action News Jax she believes November will be a tight race.

“He’s barely won every single time. He only won by 10,000 votes back in 2018. And you’re right, a lot of people here in Florida know him, and because they know his record, they don’t want to vote for him,” said Mucarsel-Powell during a June interview at a campaign stop in Jacksonville.

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