The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) threw its support behind Gov. Rick Scott’s challenge to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.
NFIB President and CEO Juanita D. Duggan announced the NFIB FedPAC’s endorsement at a media event in St. Petersburg on Monday.
“Gov. Rick Scott has been a true champion for small business during his time as Florida’s governor and we believe he will continue to deliver for small business in the U.S. Senate,” said Duggan. “Gov. Scott has a tremendous record of cutting taxes for small business, saving Florida businesses more than $7 billion over the last 7 years. I am glad to be here today in St. Petersburg to announce NFIB’s endorsement of Gov. Scott for U.S. Senate. We believe Gov. Scott will be a great U.S. Senator and we look forward to witnessing his continued work on behalf of small businesses in Florida and beyond.”
“Thanks to the hard work of Florida businesses and our continued focus on cutting taxes and reducing burdensome regulations, more than 1.5 million jobs have been created for families across our state in just over seven years,” said Scott. “While career politicians in Washington think that raising taxes and growing government is the only way to achieve economic growth, Florida has proven them wrong.
“As U.S. senator, I’ll work every day to build on Florida’s incredible economic success and share the importance of cutting taxes and supporting business growth with the rest of the country. I am proud to receive the endorsement of NFIB today and I look forward to continuing to work together with Florida job creators to reform Washington,” Scott added.
NFIB’s Florida Executive Director Bill Herrle weighed in on Scott’s tenure in Tallahassee, saying it made the governor an ideal candidate for small businesses to support.
“Since entering office in January 2011, Gov. Rick Scott’s singular mission was jobs, jobs, jobs,” said Herrle. “By focusing on workers and growing our state’s economy, Gov. Scott created 1.5 million private sector jobs and drove down the state’s unemployment rate from 10.7 percent to 3.8 percent. Gov. Scott has a true understanding of the issues that concern small business and we are proud to endorse him for election to the U.S. Senate.”
