“Andrew Gillum (D) rode a late surge of African-American voters to an upset victory in the Democratic primary Tuesday and a historic opportunity to become the first black governor in Florida history,” the Miami Herald reports.

Vox: “Gillum is the first black Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Florida history. He won out over Gwen Graham, a former member of Congress, the daughter of a former governor and senator, and the presumed Democratic frontrunner; former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine; and businessman Jeff Greene. He will face Republican Ron DeSantis in November’s general election, a race that election forecasters have rated a toss-up.”

Politico: “Privately, a number of Democratic senators have offered their unsolicited view that Nelson is in for a reckoning on Election Day, which would cost Democrats any hope of winning back the Senate. Nelson is a classic old-school senator who keeps his head down and does his work, which is effective in the Capitol but less so in a Trump-era campaign in the most expensive battleground state. He’s being vastly outspent, and there’s concern in Florida the national party might cut him loose if a loss looks certain in the expensive Sunshine State.”

“And Florida Democrats fret that the low-key third-term senator has not been visible enough while Scott is seemingly everywhere.”

“Locked in one of the nation’s costliest elections, Gov. Rick Scott (R) is pulling campaign money not only from his own pocket and from major GOP national donors but also from another rich vein of cash,” the Ocala Star Banner reports.

“Well-heeled Floridians appointed by Scott to a number of state boards during his two terms as governor are ponying up to help him unseat three-term Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL).”

“Scott has collected close to $1.4 million from 127 appointees, their spouses and children, who have given either to his Senate campaign or the New Republican PAC supporting his bid.”

A new Mason-Dixon poll in Florida finds Gov. Rick Scott (R) leads Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) in the U.S. Senate race, 47% to 44%, a net shift of about 4 points in the Republican’s favor since the firm’s last poll in February when the race was a dead heat.

Said pollster Brad Coker: “It’s going to be a slugfest. Nelson is hoping for a blue wave, and Scott is counting on Trump motivating his base of voters. Rick Scott has yet to have a landslide win. So I don’t anticipate him winning by a big amount if he does win.”

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) announced that his campaign has raised more than $10.7 million in three months — three times what incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) received, Roll Call reports.

“Scott himself has not contributed any money to the campaign… even though he reported a net worth of $149 million last year. Scott has a track record of donating to his own campaigns: $75 million in his 2010 bid for governor and $12.8 million in his 2014 reelection campaign.”

A new NBC News/Marist poll shows Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) with a four-point lead over Gov. Rick Scott (R) in the race for U.S. Senate, 49% to 45%.

A new CBS News poll in Florida shows Gov. Rick Scott (R) leading Sen. Bill Nelson (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 46% to 41%.

A new Politico/AARP poll in Florida finds Gov. Rick Scott (R) is virtually tied with Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) among Florida voters in the U.S. Senate race, 40% to 39%, but the Republican is dominating the Democrat by 9 points among those nearing or at retirement age — a group that casts the majority of Florida’s votes.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) “is off to an early and expensive start in advertising his U.S. Senate bid, spending more than $1 million a week on TV spots for a race that could determine whether the GOP keeps control of the chamber,” Bloomberg reports.

“His Democratic opponent, incumbent Senator Bill Nelson, has yet to run a commercial in what’s likely to be the most expensive congressional race in the country.”

“Scott, who can dip into his personal fortune, has also gotten help from outside groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, that have brought total TV spending on his behalf to $8.7 million in the past five weeks.”

First Read: “Across the 2018 Senate landscape, the vulnerable red-state Senate Democrats are either outspending their GOP challengers over the TV and radio airwaves, or they’re keeping the disparity as close as possible. (That’s where it helps to be an incumbent, right?)”

“But there’s one huge exception — Florida, where Republican Rick Scott and the GOP are outspending Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and the Democrats by nearly a 50-to-1 margin, $8.8 million to $185,000, according to ad-spending data from Advertising Analytics.”

“Scott’s personal wealth was always going to be a wild card for Republicans to play in this rough political environment for the GOP. It forces Democrats and Dem outside groups to spend heavily to keep Nelson competitive — it costs at least $2 million to $3 million PER WEEK to advertise statewide in Florida — which comes at the expense of other Democratic campaigns. That’s a significant advantage for Republicans, especially when so many Democrats (incumbents or challengers) are outraising Republicans in hard dollars.”

Tampa Bay Times: “Even amid all the talk of the Democratic political wave this year, Florida’s political elites are growing skeptical about Sen. Bill Nelson’s (D) prospects for fending off Gov. Rick Scott’s (R) challenge.”

“Among more than 200 experts and veterans of Florida politics surveyed in the latest Tampa Bay Times Florida Insider Poll, nearly six in 10 this week said they expect Scott to unseat the three-term Democratic Senator.  Just over two months ago, more than 57% of the Florida Insiders surveyed expected Nelson to win.”

A new Florida Atlantic University poll shows Gov. Rick Scott (R) leading Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) in the U.S. Senate race, 44% to 40%, a 6 point swing in Scott’s direction since February.

Among those polled who said they are “very likely” to vote, Scott and Nelson are dead even with 45% support.

This is key: “Democrats hope to beat Gov. Scott by linking him to President Trump, but the poll shows Trump with his highest Florida approval rating in Florida since taking office, 43%. His disapproval rate is 45%.”

Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s (R) Senate campaign says it raised $3.2 million in the three weeks since announcing his bid, a major show of fundraising force in his bid against Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), The Hill reports.

“The figure represents as much as Nelson raised during the first three months of 2018. The news is meant as a warning shot to Democrats about how quickly Scott can raise money — even before putting his personal wealth into the campaign.”

Cook Political Report: “In one of the most anticipated announcements of the cycle, Republican Gov. Rick Scott confirmed today that he will challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in November. Scott’s decision puts the contest into the Toss Up column.”

“Very few candidates could wait until 211 days before an election to announce a statewide campaign. Scott is one of them. With 10 media markets and 27 congressional districts, any candidate with statewide aspirations needs two things to be competitive: name identification and money. Scott has both and thus could afford to wait as long as he has. The late announcement also allowed him to work through the last regular legislative session of his administration.”

First Read: “Make no mistake: 2018 is shaping up to be a rough year for the GOP, and Scott’s previous statewide wins (in 2010 and 2014) all came in good Republican years. But today’s news is a helpful shot in the arm for the GOP.”

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) “makes his long-awaited Senate candidacy official Monday, setting up an epic battle against incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson and testing the limits of whether a close alliance with President Trump is political poison or a pathway to success in the nation’s biggest swing state,” Politico reports.

“Scott has never shied away from his friendship with Trump — who has repeatedly urged him to run against Nelson, Florida’s only statewide elected Democrat. And regardless of the constant string of White House controversies, Scott has only distanced himself from the president to the mildest of degrees.”

“I don’t campaign against Bill Nelson. Bill Nelson and I have a very good working relationship.”

— Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), quoted by Politico.