from The News Service of Florida
As Texas Gov. Rick Perry moves toward making his bid for the Republican presidential nomination official, one prospect looms large over his prospects in Florida: How involved will Gov. Rick Scott be in helping his political idol clinch the Sunshine State’s delegates?
For the most part, political observers say, Perry could have much the same effect in Florida that he has in other states: Splitting the conservative vote and potentially capsizing the campaign of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota or at least ending her chances of locking up the Republican vote.
“It might really benefit (Mitt) Romney, because Bachmann’s going to be strong in Iowa, and Perry will probably be strong, too,” said Seth McKee, a political science professor at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.
McKee said that could allow Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, to focus on New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary and bypass Iowa’s caucuses.
Either way, the race will end up in Florida, where Scott has for months extolled the virtues of Perry’s governorship in Texas.
Scott has gently gigged his Texas counterpart on jobs, saying Florida will eventually take over the No. 1 spot on job-creation lists that Texas often lands.
At the same time, Perry is expected to make his job-creation record a centerpiece of his campaign for the nomination and a potential general election race against President Barack Obama.
Scott so far has been coy about whether he will publicly support Perry.
“I haven’t decided if I’m going to endorse at all,” he told reporters last week. “I went through this last year. I like primaries. It’s OK with me if people don’t endorse people.”