CLEVELAND – Gov. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) predicted a “big win” for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in Florida despite Trump trailing rival Hillary Clinton among Latinos.
PJM asked Scott what Trump has to do to win his home state, which awards 29 electoral votes.
“It’s the biggest swing state in the country. It’s going to be all about jobs. It’s no different than my race in 2010. I was not the establishment candidate. Nobody endorsed me and I talked about job creation,” he said in the Quicken Loans Arena at the GOP Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. “I talked about over 700,000 jobs in seven years – we’ve added almost over 1.1 million. If Donald talks about jobs, he’s going to have a big win. I think that’s what he’s going to do.”
Twenty-three percent of Florida’s population is Latino, according to Pew Research Center. Scott was asked if he thinks Trump’s strong stance on combating illegal immigration could hurt his support among Hispanics in Florida.
“We’re the best melting pot in the world. If you go around my state, here’s what people care about: they care about jobs, education for their children and they want to be safe. So the federal government needs to do their job. Donald Trump will do his job and destroy ISIS,” Scott replied.
Donald Trump won the Florida GOP primary in March.
A Quinnipiac poll conducted from June 30-July 11 showed Trump leading by three points in Florida. An NBC-WSJ-Marist poll conducted from July 7-10 found Trump behind Clinton by seven points in the Sunshine State.
Scott addressed the convention this evening, acknowledging “that some have reservations about my friend Donald Trump.”
“Perhaps he’s sometimes not polite. He can be a little rough. And, for some people he may be too direct. But this election is not actually about Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. In fact, it’s not the election about you or me. This election is about the very survival of the American dream,” Scott said.
“It’s time for all Americans to put down the partisan banners, both for the survival of the greatest country in the world, and do the right thing for this country.”
The governor advocated for “a president who is politically incorrect and will tell it like it is.”
“We need a president who isn’t afraid of Washington. We need a president who doesn’t believe government is the answer to every problem,” Scott added. “We need a president who recognizes that great countries have borders. We need a president who will bring American jobs back to America. We need a president who is not afraid to say radical Islamic terrorism. And we need a president who will wipe ISIS off the face of the Earth.”
“And on every one of these measures, Hillary Clinton fails, she fails, she fails.”
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