Jackie Schutz Zeckman

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has in many ways evolved during his eight years in office: moving into the governor’s mansion as a tea party-aligned budget slasher and leaving after overseeing huge investments in economic development and education. However, one thing has remained the same: Jackie Schutz Zeckman.

The 32-year-old St. Pete Beach native has been with Scott since shortly after he won the 2010 governor’s race. She started as a deputy press secretary and ascended to chief of staff to Scott, who is one of the nation’s best-known governors and now challenging Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.

“She has worked with me since I got started, and has been one of my biggest confidants,” Scott told Playbook. “She has done a great job in every job she has ever had.”

Schutz Zeckman’s résumé will now include both chief of staff and campaign manager, as Scott has tapped her to lead his newly minted Senate campaign. In that role, she will help oversee one of the most expensive and closely watched Senate races in the country.

“It is very humbling,” Schutz Zeckman said. “In the past 7½ years, it has been a great experience. I’ve learned so much, he is just a humble kind of laser-focused guy.”

She has been a key part of Scott’s orbit since being hired by then-Scott communications director Brian Burgess to serve in the governor’s press shop. Schutz Zeckman was brought on from Core Message, a public relations firm founded by Corey Tilley, who was an adviser to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. She quickly climbed the ranks there, also serving as spokeswoman and communications director.

“When she came aboard, she hit the ground running, mainly because she had to,” Burgess said. “It was still very early in the governor’s administration, we’d just gotten through our first legislative session, and even the more experienced veterans like me were still trying to find our footing.”

“She went from writing press releases at her old job to being thrust between a brand-new governor and a phalanx of television cameras and aggressive reporters, and she did it with unbelievable grace and attention to detail,” he added.

Schutz Zeckman also worked on Scott’s 2014 reelection bid. That was a contentious and tightly contested-race against former Gov. Charlie Crist, who was a Republican when in office, but ran against Scott as a Democrat. The race was neck and neck to the very end, when Scott used $15 million of his own money to pull away and defeat Crist.

Florida is the third-largest state with 10 media markets, including some of the most expensive in the country. Because of this, she said one of the best political lessons she learned working from Scott is that statewide candidates need to be out and travel all the time.

“In a state like Florida, it’s important to travel every day. It’s a big, diverse state,” she said. “It’s important to travel and show up. That’s the biggest lesson.”

If Scott wins and heads to Washington, Schutz Zeckman, a Florida native, is not yet sure if she will follow her longtime boss.

“I have absolutely no idea, I never expected to be where I am today,” she said. — Matt Dixon

Photos by Lydia Bell for POLITICO.