Why some Florida voters associate Rick Scott with toxic algae

By Dino Grandoni - PowerPost

Environmental issues usually don't register with voters, who often rank health care or taxes as higher priorities when they go to the polls. 

But if any race bucks that trend in 2018, it may be Florida's tight Senate battle between incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson and his challenger, Gov. Rick Scott (R). The Post's Darryl Fears and Lori Rozsa report on how some voters of turned off by what they see as Scott's lackluster response to a toxic crisis along the state's shores:

Forget about a blue wave. Scott is dealing with red tide — a gigantic outbreak of toxic algae that has bedeviled this part of the Gulf Coast for more than a year. Although polls had earlier shown Scott locked in a dead heat with incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson, the governor is behind. His environmental record threatens to cost Republicans what had been seen as a prime opportunity to pad the GOP majority in the U.S. Senate.

Scott suspended his campaign to oversee the state’s response to Hurricane Michael, which devastated the Florida Panhandle. Meanwhile, voters whose support he desperately needs on the southern Gulf Coast ... are contending with two algae blooms — saltwater red tide and a separate outbreak of freshwater blue-green algae — that have hurt tourism and tarnished the Sunshine State’s image as a vacation paradise.

In a race that many thought was Scott’s to lose, polls show his opponent, Nelson could retain his seat. The governor is being taunted as “Red Tide Rick,” and some Floridians have made him the butt of jokes on social media, contrasting the state’s beautiful beaches with the dead fish littering its shores.

Scott's campaign contends his critics are unfairly sliming him with the algae outbreaks. His spokeswoman notes the algae is "naturally occurring." That's true, but scientists say pollution flowing into state waters can feed algae growth.

Under Scott, the budgets of state agencies that manage fresh water were cut by nearly a billion dollars, and a steep drop in pollution enforcement cases coincided with the decimation of staff at the state environmental protection department.

When Scott entered office on a wave of tea party populism in 2011, the South Florida Water Management District was on the verge of closing a deal to purchase more than 150 acres of land owned by sugar-cane farms that sent nutrient pollution into Lake Okeechobee.

The transaction stood to significantly reduce pollution that’s choking the lake. Scott helped nix it, calling the agreement a boondoggle.

For that reason, some voters are associated the outbreaks of algae with the state's governor rather than its senior senator:

Bruce Nathan is a gun-loving Republican gubernatorial candidate who finished sixth in the last state primary. He said he won’t vote for Scott or anyone else.

“I think people are so upset with the environment,” said Nathan, a Trump voter who recently switched to NPA [or ‘no party affiliation,']. “This has been a situation we’ve never had after eight years of his rule. This is at his doorstep. This will send a lot of Republicans to say I will not vote for him.”