By: Russ Spencer

As political tensions mount over the future leadership of New York City, Florida Senator Rick Scott is offering New Yorkers a sun-drenched escape from what he suggests could become a socialist stronghold under the city’s Democratic mayoral frontrunner, Zohran Mamdani. According to a report that appeared on Saturday in The New York Post, Scott took his message to the skies over Coney Island on Saturday, commissioning a bold aerial advertisement that urged disenchanted city dwellers to consider a life in the Sunshine State.

“Hate socialism? Us too! Move to FL,” read the banner that fluttered above beachgoers enjoying a mid-summer afternoon. The ad, which prominently featured Scott’s campaign branding, marked a rare moment of direct political crossfire between a sitting Florida congressman and a New York City political candidate.

The New York Post reported that the airplane banner was seen circling Coney Island’s iconic waterfront throughout the day, drawing puzzled glances and a wave of online commentary. While Scott’s office declined to provide a comment when approached by The New York Post, industry experts estimate that such aerial advertising in the New York City area typically costs between $7,000 and $9,000 for a two-hour flight, according to pricing data from Dash Two.

The aerial gambit from Scott follows a recent wave of similar provocations targeting New York’s political climate. As The New York Post previously reported, Times Square digital billboards–paid for by biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy’s Vivek Super PAC–also sought to stoke anxieties about the city’s political future, as Ramaswamy himself launches a gubernatorial bid in Ohio. While not directly coordinated with Scott’s effort, the ad blitzes appear to echo a growing national narrative among conservatives: that progressive urban governance, especially under leftist candidates like Mamdani, is driving residents away from major metropolitan centers.

Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist and the victor in the city’s recent mayoral primary, has stirred both enthusiasm and concern since emerging as the presumptive favorite for City Hall. A Queens assemblyman and a close ally of the Democratic Socialists of America, Mamdani has faced scrutiny over his political affiliations, foreign policy positions, and public statements on the Middle East–all of which have fueled his national profile as a polarizing figure. The New York Post has extensively covered his rise, including his recent headline-making three-day wedding celebration in Uganda, which was guarded by private security and featured cellphone jamming devices, drawing sharp criticism amid concurrent mourning in the local community.

While Mamdani has yet to respond to Scott’s airborne critique, the Florida congressman’s choice of message and medium signals an escalation in the cultural and political battle lines between red states and blue cities. Scott, a former Florida governor and one of the most vocal champions of conservative economic policy, has long framed his state as a bastion of freedom and opportunity in contrast to what he sees as the tax-heavy, regulation-laden governance of liberal strongholds like New York.

The Florida pitch may resonate with some. In recent years, New York has seen a measurable outflow of residents to states like Florida and Texas, a trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and exacerbated by concerns about taxes, crime, and quality of life. Scott’s message, delivered not through conventional media but via a sunny aircraft canvas over Coney Island, appears tailored to tap into that underlying unease.