The Phoenix Flyer

Scott seeks oily bucks for U.S. Senate campaign

By: Julie Hauserman - July 13, 2018 5:55 pm

Gov Scott — Gov. Scott. Photo By Office of the Governor

Gov. Rick Scott is flying to Oklahoma City this Thursday to seek political contributions from a who’s who of American fracking, oil, and coal company executives, the media outlet Energy & Environment News reports.

E&E got a copy of the fundraiser invitation, and confirmed that Scott will lunch in a restaurant in the headquarters of Devon Energy Corp.

Devon Energy’s founder, Larry Nichols, “invites attendees to ‘consider contributing the maximum of $5,400 (or $10,800/couple) to Rick’s campaign,’ noting Scott’s “strong pro-business record in Florida,” E&E reports.

Scott is “a favorite of the Trump administration and industry heavyweights like the Koch brothers,” E&E notes.

Scott is running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson.

Invitees to the executive luncheon fundraiser include Devon Energy’s Nichols, E&E reports, and “Republican mega-donor Harold Hamm, the founder and CEO of Continental Resources Inc.; Rick Muncrief, chairman and CEO of WPX Energy Inc.; and Mike Cantrell, former president of Oklahoma Basic Economy Corp. and chairman of Cantrell Investments LLC, an oil and gas firm.

Also on the list is Joe Craft, president and CEO of Alliance Resource Partners LP, one of the nation’s largest coal companies. Operating mainly in Appalachia, Alliance is based in Tulsa, Okla., where Craft lives.”

E&E reports “The invitation states that Oklahoma Sens. Jim Inhofe (R) and James Lankford (R) will also attend and that Gov. Mary Fallin (R) is invited. The senators’ offices did not respond to a request for comment.”

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Julie Hauserman

Julie Hauserman has been writing about Florida for more than 30 years. She is a former Capitol bureau reporter for the St. Petersburg (Tampa Bay) Times, and reported for The Stuart News and the Tallahassee Democrat. She was a national commentator for National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition Sunday and The Splendid Table . She has won many awards, including two nominations for the Pulitzer Prize. Her work is featured in several Florida anthologies, including The Wild Heart of Florida , The Book of the Everglades , and Between Two Rivers . Her new book is Drawn to The Deep, a University Press of Florida biography of Florida cave diver and National Geographic explorer Wes Skiles.