[Correction: This story incorrectly identified the Florida Chamber of Congress, and mischaracterized messages sent from the Chamber touting Florida’s jobs gains as “e-mails.” The story has been updated to reflect the correct name of the Chamber, and that the messages were “Internet messages.”]
Mitt Romney’s campaign on Thursday denied point-blank allegations that they asked Florida Gov. Rick Scott to downplay job gains in the Sunshine State, first reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday.
“Governor Romney frequently praises [governors] for their ability to overcome the job-stifling policies of the Obama Administration,” said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul, according to The Washington Post. “Any statement to the contrary is not in line with Governor Romney’s thoughts or his message.”
Bloomberg reported that the Romney campaign asked Scott, a Republican, to say that his state’s unemployment rate could improve faster under a Romney presidency because the bright economic news clashed with the candidate’s criticism of President Obama’s handling of the country’s economy
Press releases from Scott's re-election campaign and Internet messages from the Florida Chamber of Commerce had touted the gains after Florida’s unemployment rate dropped from 8.7 percent in April to 8.6 percent in May.
Romney has built his campaign largely around the claim that Obama’s policies have made the fragile economy worse, which presents a dilemma for Republican governors who want to take credit for improvement in their states’ economies.
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