HIALEAH, Fla. – Florida Senate candidates Bill Nelson and Rick Scott spent the final day before Election Day courting potential voters as a barrage of negative ads continued to air on TV stations across the state.
Scott, a Republican whose term as governor ends early next year, hugged supporters Monday as he visited Amerikooler, a manufacturer of cold storage and walk-in freezers, in Hialeah. Meanwhile, Bill Nelson, the Democratic incumbent, kept up an election-eve tradition by hitting the streets of Melbourne with a folksy signing reading: “Hi! I’m Bill Nelson U.S. Senate.”
The race is one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country and is also one of the most expensive with millions of dollars spent on campaign ads.
For weeks, Scott, 65, and outside groups have portrayed the 76-year-old Nelson as old, confused and out-of-touch with Floridians. On the other side, Nelson and outside groups have focused Scott’s past as a wealthy health care executive, saying he’s slick and untrustworthy.
But in the final days of the campaign the candidates have also rolled out positive ads. Scott is touting is his family’s long legacy in Florida and says he’s put Florida first throughout his long career in Washington.
Scott argues he’s been the better leader for the Florida economy and in disasters like Hurricane Michael in the Panhandle.
Polls throughout the race have shown an extremely close race. For most of the campaign Scott and Nelson have been locked in a virtually dead heat, but recent surveys show a slight edge for Nelson.