Bill Nelson gets national help in the battle for Florida’s airwaves

Buried so far in TV ads from Gov. Rick Scott, Sen. Bill Nelson is finally getting some help.

Senate Majority PAC said Monday it will spend $2.2 million on an ad in multiple markets across Florida. It's a bio piece that begins, "He served his country as an Army captain. An astronaut on the shuttle Columbia. And as one of America's most independent Senators."

Scott has spent $8 million alone with nearly $4 million coming from outside groups. The early onslaught has forced Nelson's allies to respond.

Republicans have sought to poke holes in Nelson's moderate image, noting he's a reliable vote for Democrats, though studies that take into numerous factors show Nelson sits somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. He recently denied Scott a talking point by voting for Gina Haspel for CIA director, and Mike Pompeo for secretary of state.

Check out the ad here:

Previous coverage: Rick Scott has now spent $8 million on TV

Ryan Patmintra, spokesman for Scott campaign: "After a half century in office, shouldn't Floridians know who Bill Nelson is? It looks like Democrat party boss Chuck Schumer has had to come to the aid of his struggling foot soldier Bill Nelson. It's ironic that a liberal SuperPAC is going out of its way to claim that Bill Nelson is independent. Nelson's voting record is anything but moderate and nothing can hide his own record of voting in lockstep with his party bosses in D.C. Not surprisingly, the ad focuses on things Nelson has opposed, but not a single thing he has accomplished. Clearly, Nelson's own base can't even come up with real results worth sharing."