In 2012, the Republican candidate, congressman Connie Mack, spent more than $7.5 million in his bid to unseat incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson, and when you throw in national parties and outside groups, nearly $17 million was spent to elect Mack — actually more than Nelson’s total by the same measure.
Yet that $17 million didn’t even make it close. Mack received just 42 percent of the vote to Nelson’s 55 percent.
That’s not to say there’s no hope at all. Florida governor Rick Scott’s reelection last year over Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist might provide Republicans a blueprint: Scott’s team campaigned as the underdogs early in the cycle, hustled every step of the way, and got 240,000 more votes outside of South Florida than he had in 2010.
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