Federal

Republican Rick Scott Wins Florida Governor’s Race

By Erik W. Robelen — November 03, 2010 1 min read
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It’s official: Republican Rick Scott will be the next governor of Florida.

The former healthcare executive, who poured millions of his own fortune into the race, supports expanding vouchers and charter schools. In his economic plan, he vowed to “refuse temporary funding from the federal government that creates permanent spending in Florida,” though there was no direct reference here to the federal Race to the Top program.

Scott’s Democratic opponent, Alex Sink, voiced strong support for her state’s winning, $700 million Race to the Top plan, which calls for increased graduation rates and for school districts to develop merit pay plans, among other steps.

The race was very close, with Scott getting 49 percent of the vote, compared with 48 percent for Sink.

Scott replaces Gov. Charlie Crist, who opted against seeking a second term in favor of a run for the U.S. Senate. He lost in the primary to Republican Marco Rubio and in his bid as independent in the three-way race that Rubio won Tuesday.

A version of this news article first appeared in the State EdWatch blog.