Rick Scott Leads in Florida Gov Race

Local media in Florida reports that GOP candidate Rick Scott is currently leading in the race to win the nomination to run for Governor:

As he meets Republicans around Florida, Rick Scott, the new front-runner in the Florida governor's race, has been greeted with applause — and with blunt questions about his past. At a recent GOP breakfast in Tampa, Scott was confronted — not for the first time — about his role in the scandals at Columbia/HCA, the huge health care company that Scott ran for 10 years. Scott resigned in 1997 amid an FBI inquiry that ultimately led to the company paying a record $1.7 billion in criminal and civil fines for Medicare fraud. It's the paradox of Scott's upstart campaign: The novice candidate has touted his stature and experience as the get-things-done CEO of what was once the nation's largest for-profit health care company, while also trying to distance himself from Columbia/HCA's notorious legacy of fraud.

The strategy has worked so far. Thanks largely to a $16 million advertising blitz he financed himself, Scott — who moved to Florida seven years ago — now leads in the polls over fellow Republican Bill McCollum, the state attorney general and former congressman.

"As I have said repeatedly, Columbia/HCA made mistakes, and I take responsibility for what happened on my watch as CEO," Scott said in a written statement Friday. He has denied knowing frauds were taking place while he was there, and he was never charged with any crimes.

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