Two months after Florida Gov. Rick Scott helped then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence fundraise in Fort Lauderdale last year, Pence announced a $650,000 incentives package for a company owned in large part by Scott.
Pence’s offer of Indiana taxpayer subsidies for Continental Structural Plastics came as Scott’s Florida contributors poured more than $125,000 into Pence’s gubernatorial re-election campaign. Scott kicked in another $5,000 personal check to fellow Republican Pence’s campaign.
The Tampa Bay Times called Scott’s personal contribution to Pence “unusual” because Scott “has never given more than $500 to a Florida candidate other than himself.” It also noted that Pence had “picked up more campaign cash from Florida than any other state, except Indiana and Washington, D.C.”
Pence’s gubernatorial campaign ended abruptly on July 15, 2016 when Donald Trump tapped him as his vice-presidential running mate. But before that the vice president had been in a tight re-election fight amid sagging approval ratings.