Florida Attorney General McCollum Falls Victim to Collective Mandate, Loses Bid for GOP Nomination for Governor

Attorney General McCollum announces that his legal review has determined the health care legislation's individual mandate provision is unconstitutional and that he will file a lawsuit if the bill becomes law. (January 2010)

Attorney General McCollum announces that his legal review has determined the health care legislation's individual mandate provision is unconstitutional and that he will file a lawsuit if the bill becomes law. (January 2010)

Attorney General Bill McCollum, noted of late for spearheading the state suits against the Individual Mandate in health reform, has lost his bid for the Republican Party nomination for governor of Florida. Political newcomer Rick Scott, a self styled “conservative outsider” and former hospital corporation CEO, poured over $30 million of his own money into the race and won the nomination.  According to Fox News/AP, Mr. Scott, who has never run for any office before, “was active last year opposing the health care legislation in Washington.”

With 93 percent of precincts reporting, Scott led McCollum 47 percent to 43 percent.

Fox/AP also reports that the result is the culmination “of months of personal attacks, name-calling and negative TV ads….”

And that

McCollum, who racked up endorsements from big Republican names, hit Scott hard for past Medicare fraud allegations. Scott was the CEO of HCA/Columbia Hospitals when it settled the biggest Medicare fraud case in history — Scott, who was forced out as CEO by his board amid the government investigation in 1997, has said repeatedly that he didn’t know about any criminal activity and was never charged.

Tip of the Hat to JanetHasty via good ol’ twitter.

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