Another narrow victory by Rick Scott is a good reason to patiently party

For four hours, they sipped cocktails, chatted and watched Fox News. But there was no sign of Gov. Rick Scott.

The hours rolled by and the pounding music went on, through “Fun Fun Fun,” “We Are the Champions” and “Higher and Higher.” No Scott, until shortly before midnight when he arrived on stage with his wife, Ann, and their two daughters.

After watching returns on TV from the 14th floor of the La Playa resort in Naples, Scott didn’t wait for a concession speech from Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. He arrived in the hotel ballroom a few minutes after The Associated Press declared him the winner.

“Now that this campaign is behind us, that’s where we’re going to leave it,” Scott said. “These campaigns are divisive and they’re tough, and it’s way too nasty.”

Scott’s most loyal supporters, including some high-profile figures from his administration, said they never lost faith in the boss’ ability to deliver another narrow victory, his third in eight years, all three by a single percentage point or less.

“He’s won three times in very close races so I would have been surprised if it wasn’t. It really is a purple state,” said lobbyist and long-time friend Bill Rubin. “I feel like this really is an affirmation of the job the governor’s done for the last eight years.”

At one point Tuesday night, Scott’s margin of victory over Nelson was 64,061. He won re-election as governor over Democrat Charlie Crist four years ago by 64,145. He won his first race for governor over Democrat Alex Sink in 2010 by

“I know it’s been a long night. I’m excited to tell you that we’ve had a big win,” campaign manager Jackie Schutz Zeckman told the crowd shortly before midnight, as the ballroom erupted into thunderous cheers.

In a rare moment of self-reflection, he choked up as he recalled two people who weren’t there to witness it — his late mother, Esther, and a young aide, Jeri Bustamante, who died in a Miami boating accident in April, one day before Scott announced his Senate candidacy.

For some supporters, it was a nerve-wracking night at the end of a grueling and mean campaign in which a series of polls said — inaccurately, it turned out — that Democrat Bill Nelson would win by five, six or seven points.

“There’s a lot of people who are going to pore over all those inaccurate polls,” Scott said as the crowd erupted in cheers.

He thanked President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, former President George W. Bush and former Gov. Jeb Bush, among others. The crowd booed lustily when Scott said how shocking it was that people suggested “we embrace socialism,” in a reference to the Democratic candidate for governor, Andrew Gillum.

Among those at the La Playa oceanfront resort in Naples were Scott’s chief economic development adviser, Pete Antonacci; his former environmental secretary, Herschel Vinyard; Tim Cerio, a former chief legal counsel; and communications director John Tupps.

Scott singled out for praise his campaign manager, Zeckman, a St. Petersburg native who was handed the reins of his Senate campaign in April and played an instrumental role in Tuesday’s victory.

A former Scott chief of staff, Adam Hollingsworth, was also in the crowd of more than 200 people.

“He always wins close races. He’s good at it,” Hollingsworth said. “You think about a guy who started selling ‘TV Guide’ door-to-door when he was 7 years old.”

In his victory speech, Scott echoed his own campaign ads, in which he said he would not be popular on Capitol Hill.

“I’m not going to D.C. to win a popularity contest. I’m going to D.C. to get something done,” he said.

This story was originally published November 7, 2018 at 12:54 AM.