Mitt Romney and Rick Scott camps shoot down reports of muzzling talk of improving economy
(CBS News) Representatives for Mitt Romney and Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday shot down a report that aides to the presumptive presidential nominee have asked the fellow Republican to stop talking about economic successes in the Sunshine state while the former Massachusetts governor campaigns for the White House by hitting President Obama's stewardship of the economy.
Citing "two people familiar with the matter," Bloomberg News reported Thursday that aides to Romney asked Scott to say that unemployment would fall faster if the former Bain Capital executive were in power.
"Many governors have brought new ideas and fresh approaches to their states, and Gov. Romney frequently praises them for their ability to overcome the job-stifling policies of the Obama administration. Any statement to the contrary is not in line with Gov. Romney's thoughts or his message," Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for the Romney campaign, told CBS News in a prepared statement responding to a request for comment.
And a spokeswoman for Scott, Jackie Schutz told CBS News that "no Romney official has asked Governor Scott or staff to change our message."
"It's nice to have even Democrats and President Obama's campaign pushing a story acknowledging the good job Gov. Scott is doing in Florida," she said, adding the caveat that "we know we have a long way to go to reach Gov. Scott's goal of 700,000 jobs in seven years."
Scott has been publicly trumpeting recent declines in the state's unemployment rate, falling 2 percentage points in twelve months to 8.6 percent in May. That is still above the 8.2 percent national rate.
The declining unemployment rate in Florida and other key swing states presents a problem for Romney's campaign, which has made the lackluster recovery a centerpiece of its campaign.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, also a Republican, made an appearance with Romney last month and touted the 80,000 job openings in the state as Romney sat quietly listening.