Rick Scott

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Rick Scott
Rick Scott.jpg
Governor of Florida
Incumbent
In office
January 4, 2011 - Present
Term ends
January 6, 2015
Years in position 2
PartyRepublican
PredecessorCharlie Crist (I)
Compensation
Base salary$130,273
Elections and appointments
First electedNovember 2, 2010
Next electionNovember 4, 2014
Term limits2 consecutive terms
Education
Bachelor'sUniversity of Missouri-Kansas City
J.D.Southern Methodist University
Personal
BirthdayDecember 1, 1952
Place of birthBloomington, Illinois
ProfessionHealth care executive
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Contents

Rick Scott (b. December 1, 1952) is the current Republican Governor of Florida. He was first elected in 2010 on a joint ticket with former lieutenant governor Jennifer Carroll. Scott won a narrow and closely watched contest with Florida's Democratic CFO, Alex Sink, in the general election on November 2, 2010.[1] He sworn into office on January 4, 2011 and his term will expire January 6, 2015.

Before becoming governor, Scott ran Solantic Corporation, a network of Florida urgent care centers, which he co-founded in 2001. From 1997 to 2001, he owned a controlling share in America's Health Network, a media company later known as Discovery Health. He previously headed Columbia Hospital Corporation, a conglomeration of 340 hospitals, from its founding in 1987 to 1997.[2]

Scott is eligible for re-election and is seeking a second term as governor in the 2014 elections.[3] He has repeatedly been rated as the most vulnerable incumbent heading into 2014 gubernatorial election cycle by The Washington Post and Governing.[4][5] One potential threat to Scott winning re-election is former governor and attorney general Charlie Crist. Although he has yet to declare, Crist's recent decision to change his party affiliation to Democrat and subsequent hobnobbing with the Democratic Governors Association strongly suggest he is preparing for a comeback bid.[6]

Biography

Rick Scott was born in Illinois, near Bloomington. He grew up in Kansas City, Missouri where his parents worked as a truck driver and a secretary for J.C. Penny. After high school, Rick spent one year in community college before deciding to join the U.S. Navy.[1]

He served for two and half years, much of that time spent abroad the U.S.S. Glover as a radar technician. Upon leaving the service, Scott attended the University of Missouri and went on to law school in SMU. He began his business career while in college, when he bought and revitalized two doughut shops. After law school he joined Johnson & Swanson in Dallas, Texas; at the time, the firm was the largest in the city.[1]

While a partner at Johnson & Swanson in 1987, Scott formed HCA Acquisition Company specifically to acquire Hospital Corporation of America and secured funding conditional on completing the acquisition. The initial offer was declined by HCA and ultimately withdrawn.

The next year, he formed Columbia Hospital Corporation and successfully acquired several Dallas area hospitals. Beginning in 1992, Scott and his partners bought a hospital a year for four years, including HCA, his former target. By 1997, Columbia/HCA was the largest healthcare provider on the glove, with annual revenues exceeding $23 billion.

But by then, an investigation begun by the New York Times had caught the eye of the federal government. The federal investigation uncovered evidence of fraud and the company ultimately paid $1.7 billion in fines. Scott's departure from the company was part of the arrangement to avoid criminal charges. Scott relocated to Naples, Florida and founded Richard L. Scott Investments. Starting in 1998, the firm acquired numerous targets.

Education

  • Southern Methodist University, J.D.
  • University of Missouri, Kansas City

Political career

Governor (2011-Present)

Scott was elected Governor of Florida in 2010 on a ticket with Jennifer Carroll. His term ends January 6, 2015.

Issues

Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")

On February 20, 2013, Scott joined the growing brood of reluctant Republican governors to declare his support for Medicaid expansion as outlined under the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as "Obamacare."[7] The controversial federal health care reform bill was passed in March 2010 to the dismay of many Republican elected officials, Scott included, whose disapproval crystallized into a legal effort to have the law overturned by the Supreme Court. The challenge was led by Scott's executive branch colleague, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. When the Court ultimately upheld Obamacare on June 28, 2012, Scott expressed his commitment to shun optional provisions such as expanding Florida's Medicaid rolls. But the prospect of having to put 3.5 million Florida patients into managed care plans under a federal action waiver convinced him to agree to a three year trial period for expansion, during which the federal government can absorb the costs of adding 1 million low-income Florida residents to the state's Medicaid rolls. "Three years is a reasonable period to judge just how well the expansion is working and to explore further reforms to improve cost, quality and access in health care -- both in the public and private markets."[8]

Scott's appeal to the Republican-dominated Florida legislature to consent to a three year trial expansion pointed to the estimated $26 billion federal dollars Florida could receive in the next 10 years under the expansion, as well as the compassion behind broadening eligibility requirements in order to provide care to a portion Florida's 4 million uninsured residents. Reversing his position on the expansion "is not a white flag of surrender to government-run health care," Scott insisted.[8]

Elections

2014

See also: Florida gubernatorial election, 2014

Scott announced he is running for re-election in 2014.[9] A report released by Governing in December 2012 named Scott as one of five governors considered vulnerable to losing re-election in 2014.[10]

The general election takes place on November 4, 2014.

Hypothetical match-up polls

Governor Florida Hypothetical Match-Up Poll
Response Florida Opinion Research
May 23–25, 2012		Quinnipiac University Poll
(June 11-16, 2013)		Average
Charlie Crist (D) 48.1%47% 47.55%
Rick Scott (R) 34.1%37% 35.55%
Don't Know/Refused 12.8%12% 12.4%
Other 5.0%4% 4.5%
Number polled 8021,176 989
Margin of error +/-3.46+/-2.9% 3.18%
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org
Governor of Florida Hypothetical Match-Up Poll
Response Quinnipiac University Poll
(June 11-16, 2013)		Average
Nan Rich (D) 36% 36%
Rick Scott (R) 42% 42%
Someone else 3% 3%
Undecided 18% 18%
Number polled 1,176 1,176
Margin of error +/-2.9 2.9%
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

2010

See also: Florida gubernatorial election, 2010 and Gubernatorial elections, 2010

Scott defeated Bill McCollum and Mike McAllister in the August 24 primary, winning with 46.41% of the vote.

Scott faced Democrat Alex Sink in the general election on November 2, 2010, winning by just over 1%.[11]

Florida Gubernatorial/Lt. Gubernatorial General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark.jpgRick Scott/Jennifer Carroll 48.9% 2,619,335
     Democratic Alex Sink/Rod Smith 47.7% 2,557,785
     Independent Peter L. Allen/John E. Zanni 2.3% 123,831
     No Party Affiliation C.C. Reed/Larry Waldo, Sr. 0.4% 18,842
     No Party Affiliation Michael E. Arth/Al Krulick 0.3% 18,644
     No Party Affiliation Daniel Imperato/Karl Behm 0.3% 13,690
     No Party Affiliation Farid Khavari/Darcy C. Richardson 0.1% 7,487
     Write-in Josue Larouse/Valencia St. Louis 0% 121
Total Votes 5,359,735
Election Results Via: Florida Department of State

Campaign donors

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Rick Scott & Jennifer Carroll's donors each year.[12] Click [show] for more information.


Personal

Rick Scott, his wife Ann, and their three children live in Naples, Florida. He and Ann have been married since 1972; the two met in high school.

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term "Rick + Scott + Florida + Governor"

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

[edit] Rick Scott News Feed


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See also

External links

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References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Florida Governor's office, "Meet Governor Scott," accessed September 13, 2012
  2. ↑ Office of the Governor of Florida, "Meet Governor Scott," accessed August 17, 2011.
  3. ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2013-2014 Gubernatorial Races," March 4, 2013
  4. ↑ The Washington Post, "The Fix's top 15 gubernatorial races," May 24, 2013
  5. ↑ Governing Politics, "2013-2014 Governor's Races: Who's Vulnerable?," December 11, 2012
  6. ↑ The Daily Caller, "Charlie Crist briefly visits with Democratic Governors Association," January 9, 2013
  7. ↑ The New York Times, "In Reversal, Florida to Take Health Law’s Medicaid Expansion," February 20, 2013
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Governing, "Florida GOP Gov. Scott Endorses Medicaid Expansion," February 21, 2013
  9. ↑ Bay News, "A year away, Gov. Scott, Dems prep for next governor's race," July 16, 2012
  10. ↑ Governing Politics, "2013-2014 Governor's Races: Who's Vulnerable?," December 11, 2012
  11. ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Governor and Lieutenant Governor: General Election", accessed November 8, 2010, November 29, 2010, and December 21, 2010
  12. ↑ Follow the Money.org
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2011 - present 		Succeeded by
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