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VERIFY: Has Bill Nelson voted 349 times for higher taxes?

Scott is running attack ads against Nelson and his primary point is that Nelson has not been very productive in his 4 decades of service.

If it feels like there's a political ad in every commercial break, you're not far off. It is that time of the year. The First Coast News verify team will be here to help you separate fact from fiction. Let's talk about the race between Republican Governor Rick Scott and Democratic Senator Bill Nelson.

Scott is running attack ads against Nelson and his primary point is that Nelson has not been very productive in his 4 decades of service. In a particular ad, Sen. Nelson's time in office is compared to a 1978 Ford Pinto. It's the same year Nelson was elected to Congress.

We looked up Nelson's biography. The 75-year-old got involved in politics in 1972 with his election in the Florida Legislature. He then served six terms in Congress representing Orlando and the Space Coast. In 1994, he was elected to the Florida Cabinet as State Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner and Fire Marshal. Nelson was first elected to the U.S. Senate in November of 2000.

The ad claims Nelson voted 349 times for higher taxes. That's an answer we had a hard time trying to verify. According to congressional records, he's sponsored 890 pieces of legislation and co-sponsored more than 3,600. 249 pieces of legislation involving taxation.

Nelson's campaign responded saying that issue has consistently been debunked by fact checkers. They sent the First Coast News verify team a PolitiFact article from November of 2012 when Republican Opponent Connie Mack claimed Nelson voted 272 times for higher taxes.

The article says Nelson did make some votes that raised taxes. But, Mack grossly inflated the numbers by counting multiple votes on the same bill, non-binding resolutions and some fees that only affected a slice of the population.

A more recent article published by PolitiFact Florida on July 9th says the current claims about Nelson voting 349 times for higher taxes is also inflated and cites some of those same reasons from 2012.

The attack ad also claims that Nelson was in Washington D.C. for half a century. Nelson's campaign says that's "just false." He was elected to the Senate in 2000. He served 12 years in the House prior to that.

Rick Scott's Campaign responded with the following statement:

“The statement being checked is that Nelson VOTED in favor of higher taxes 349 times. He did. Every member of Congress should be held accountable for every single vote they take – that is part of their job and it is what American families expect. Every vote cited was an opportunity for Bill Nelson to make his position on taxes clear, and every time he voted in favor of higher taxes.”

The Rick Scott Campaign sent First Coast News a PDF with how they determined Bill Nelson's voting record on higher taxes. You can read it by clicking here.

Is there a campaign ad you're curious about? Email First Coast News Anchor Anthony Austin at aaustin@firstcoastnews.com

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