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Tags: keith gross | rick scott | florida | senator

Gross Will Spend $20 Million to Unseat Sen. Rick Scott

By Peter Malbin | Monday, 18 September 2023 11:51 AM EDT

Florida businessman Keith Gross said he is willing to spend $20 million to $30 million of his own money to unseat Republican Sen. Rick Scott in the Florida GOP primary.

“If I have to spend $20, $30 million to get the message out of my own cash, I’m not putting that off the table. I mean, I’m gonna keep adding to the pile as much as I need to to get this job done,” he said.

“If we spend enough to get our message out, I don’t think it would matter if he outspends me 5 to 1. He can’t win this election because people don’t want him,” said Gross.

“It’s because he’s an absolute ineffective crook, basically. If I thought there was an awesome senator in that seat … I would be looking at a different seat. Where can I make a difference?” Gross said in an interview with The Hill.

“But the biggest positive impact I know I can make is in the U.S. Senate by unseating that guy.”

Gross' website states: "Keith’s experiences in the business sector coupled with his time as a prosecutor proved that successful policies can promote freedom and personal liberty. He can’t sit on the sidelines any longer and watch out-of-touch politicians get rich by hiding fraud and corruption at voters’ expense.

"Keith is running for the United States Senate to give Florida a voice in Washington and not give Washington a voice in Florida."

Gross’ campaign says state and local Republican committees in Florida are openly supportive of Scott, potentially violating the party’s bylaws or campaign laws.

Those actions, Gross said, mirror the GOP’s treatment of former President Donald Trump, whom Gross has endorsed.

“The party is putting their thumb on the scale in favor of one candidate over another in my election, and with the presidential election, too. Like I said, they’re trying to railroad Donald Trump as well, trying to kick him off the ballot through a loyalty pledge,” Gross said.

“We had the last election basically stolen from us — it was a corrupt process. And the last thing I want to do is stand by while we have some fraud — Rick Scott has literally built his entire career on fraud,” he said.

In 1997, Scott was forced to resign as head of Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., at the time the country’s largest private hospital operator, following raids on the company by FBI and IRS investigators, The Hill noted.

The case ended in 2003 with a $1.7 billion settlement over what the Department of Justice called the “largest healthcare fraud in U.S. history.”

“It is a strong allegation, and I believe the only reason he’s been elected is because he’s never had a serious challenge. If you look at his last election, he outspent his opponent 2 to 1 — $30 million to $60 million — he outspent and he still won that election with less than half of 1%,” Gross told The Hill.

“He’s not gonna be able to win this election, because I don’t think voters are gonna let him buy a seat this time.”

But Gross may have issues of his own.

Florida Politics reported that Gross had been the defendant in legal complaints in Maryland and Georgia.

In Maryland he was sued four times over the management of a restaurant, Chris’ Steakhouse. A court ordered him to pay more than $6,000 to the plaintiffs.

And in Georgia, Gross was involved in a contract dispute.

The nature of the dispute wasn’t immediately clear, but the courts ordered Gross to pay $10,643 to the plaintiff in that case. Including court costs, he ultimately had to shell out nearly $15,000, an amount he did not cover in full until early 2014, Florida Politics reported.