A Republican group is attacking Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D.) as a "confused puppet" in another knock on the lawmaker's faculties as he faces a tough re-election fight.
"Why are Democrats spending almost $50 million to re-elect Bill Nelson?" the narrator asks. "Simple. They control this confused puppet nearly 90 percent of the time. Have for years."
The ad, paid for by New Republican PAC, charged Nelson with voting to raise taxes 375 times over three decades, calling him "Washington Democrats' old reliable puppet."
It marks another attack on Nelson's faculties in his battle with Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R.).
The Senate Leadership Fund said Nelson is "no longer dealing from a full deck" after he said Russia was actively meddling in Florida's election systems and could purge voters from the rolls, but gave no evidence. The Washington Post gave him "Four Pinocchios" for the remark. He also drew criticism for attacking Scott for a position Nelson held himself on asking the Environmental Protection Agency to delay the imposition of new water cleanliness standards in 2010.
"It’s time for Bill Nelson’s caretakers to keep better tabs on the Senator’s whereabouts and public statements so that he is not embarrassed into admitting he’s no longer dealing from a full deck," SLF spokesman Chris Pack said in a statement.
Democratic senators have privately fretted that Nelson is blowing the race and will lose to Scott, who has held a consistent lead in recent polling. The independently wealthy Scott also has the money to compete in Florida, which is the most expensive battleground state for campaigns.
A Scott victory in Florida would be a huge blow to Democratic hopes to take control of the U.S. Senate in November. Democrats face a tough map in the upper chamber, defending Senate seats in such states as North Dakota, West Virginia, Florida, Missouri, Wisconsin and Indiana, all of which voted for Trump in 2016.