Declaring Washington a "disaster," Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Monday announced his bid for the US Senate, setting up a high-profile race against a Democratic incumbent in November's mid-term elections.
Scott, a multi-millionaire who never ran for office before he ran for governor in 2010, rode into office as part of the tea party movement and called for massive budget and tax cuts. But he was forced to scale back his plans amid opposition from the GOP-controlled Legislature. He also changed his hard line positions on immigration.
With a year left in his second term as governor, Scott enters the race as Republicans face the tough task of maintaining their control of Congress in the second year of fellow Republican Donald Trump's presidency.
He made his announcement during a speech in Orlando, touting his success at creating new jobs in the southeastern state.
"I will bust my butt to win this election. We together will win," Scott, 65, told a cheering crowd of supporters.
"We have to all acknowledge: Washington's a disaster, it's dysfunctional," Scott added. "There's a lot of old tired thinking up there."
Scott made no mention of Trump, or whether he backs the president's policies.
Scott assumed office in 2011, and has been seen as a blue-chip Republican recruit to challenge Democratic Senator Bill Nelson in November.
Democrats swiftly laid out their argument against Scott.
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee head Mindy Myers branded him a "self-serving and dishonest" governor who oversaw poor job growth and has deflected responsibility in times of crisis, including a February mass shooting in which 17 people were killed at a high school in Parkland.
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