Club for Growth endorses Scott and dings McConnell

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has nabbed an early endorsement in his bid for reelection, with the conservative Club for Growth, one of the top-spending GOP super PACs, offering its support.

The Club’s endorsement of the Florida Republican also comes with a rebuke of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a further sign that the party’s fissures remain deep and unresolved as it enters the 2024 cycle.

“While other Republicans have caved to massive tax-and-spend packages that have strained our economy, Rick Scott has consistently championed small government solutions centered around fiscal responsibility, and because of that he’s faced the unfounded and false attacks of liberal Democrats like President Biden and even establishment Republicans like Leader McConnell,” David McIntosh, president of the Club for Growth, said to POLITICO.

A spokesman for Club said the group’s super PAC intends to spend on Scott’s behalf in next year’s election, which as of now features no Republican primary opponents. The group spent $60 million on Senate races this past cycle.

The Club for Growth supported Scott in his 2018 Senate campaign and McIntosh praised the Senator as a “proven conservative who has promoted economic growth.” Scott, a former healthcare executive turned Florida governor, narrowly defeated a Democrat in his bid for Senate that year after spending more than $60 million of his own cash. As of now, there are no notable Democratic challengers for his seat.

The dig at McConnell by the Club for Growth comes at a tense moment between the Senate Minority Leader and Scott.

During the 2022 midterms, Scott chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee, clashing with McConnell throughout the cycle on matters of strategy. A super PAC aligned with McConnell, the Senate Leadership Fund, stepped in to pour $240 million into Senate races last year as the NRSC’s resources were strained. But they eventually cut off funding for poorly performing Republican nominees in Arizona and New Hampshire. Republicans ultimately lost a seat during an election in which they were favored to win back the Senate majority, as Scott, McConnell and their allies each pointed fingers over whose strategy was to blame.

But the persistent clashes have been over Scott’s campaign season proposal to require Congress to reapprove federal programs, including Medicare and Social Security, every five years. McConnell has sought to distance the party from the idea and even recently said he believed Scott’s own election would be endangered because of it.

After the midterms, Scott announced he would challenge McConnell as GOP leader — which he did unsuccessfully. McIntosh, in an interview at the time, said he did not foresee McConnell losing the position, but predicted “a sea change in terms of how much power he has as the leader.”

A spokesperson for McConnell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Despite no current threat in his 2024 reelection bid, Scott has already begun to build up a campaign operation, bringing on additional campaign staff in Florida and ramping up his political activity in the state. Next week, Scott has a series of campaign events planned, followed by small rallies and roundtables in March.

The Club for Growth’s endorsement comes as Scott is poised to also have the backing of SLF and the NRSC, which have no plans to oppose his reelection bid, both groups said.

Scott in a statement to POLITICO said he is “proud” to have the Club’s endorsement.

“The establishment in Washington has failed and they’re the only ones who don’t realize it,” Scott said. “We need more champions in Washington who are willing to fight the status quo and work to rescue America from the failures of Joe Biden, Democrats, and the Washington establishment.”