Flip-flopping in the Sunshine State

With this election being titled one of 2014’s most expensive and arduous campaigns, former Republican governor, Charlie Crist and current Florida governor, Rick Scott, are under tough scrutiny. A Quinnipiac poll shows that neither candidate has an overwhelming lead.

Since both candidates have made changes to their campaigns, it has stirred a lot of media attention. Charlie Crist, former Republican governor, has decided to run as a Democrat which has birthed a lot of skepticism from the public. In return, Florida governor Rick Scott has converted his focus from conservative tax cuts to spending more on education and Medicaid expansion.

“Both Charlie Crist and Rick Scott have faced criticism for flip-flopping on key issues in an effort to win voter approval” states PBS News Hour correspondent Steve Mort, regarding both candidates in a discussion.

Associate Professor Aubrey Jewett was interviewed by PBS News Hour regarding the Florida gubernatorial race. He commented on Scott’s new approach:

“He [Scott] has had a total image makeover and policy makeover over the last couple of years. When he got into office, his approval ratings were the lowest in the country at one point. It was about 28 percent, and so I think he realized and his team realized, hey, if we really want to have a shot at getting reelected, we have to try something different, and so they began to try to become more moderate at least on some policy issues.”

With just six weeks left until Florida’s Election Day, the focus on the governor’s race will only become more intense. At the end of the day, the final decision will depend on the voters but there is no doubt that this hasn’t been an attention-grabbing election campaign.

For more information, you can access the PBS discussion here.