Scott Maxwell shares his best bets for the Florida governor’s race primaries.
Can you believe it’s almost voting time?
Why, it seems like only a decade or so ago that ambitious politicians started plotting their way to the 2018 governor’s race. Finally, though, election season is upon us with absentee ballots set to go out next week.
So I thought I’d highlight the candidates who strike me as the most solid choices on each side.
You’re free to disagree. I’m pretty sure the other candidates do.
Republicans: Ron DeSantis
I’ve always thought DeSantis was the more solid choice for Republicans. He’s a former Navy JAG officer, member of Congress and rock-solid conservative.
Republicans seem to agree as DeSantis is surging in the polls. He’s gone from 15 points behind Adam Putnam in one poll to more than 15 points ahead in another.
That’s partly because Putnam is a career politician (44 years old and in elected office since he was 22) whose campaign has been a train wreck. It’s not that Putnam’s tactical operation has been poorly run. It’s that his actual record has been exposed. And for Putnam, that may be fatal.
Putnam’s agriculture office has botched gun permits. The state’s waters are now thick with polluted green slop after he spent years fussing about environmental protection.
And there’s the fact that he declared himself a “proud NRA sellout” — an admission that made even ardent Second Amendment supporters wince. Many people, after all, respect gun rights. No one respects a “sellout.”
Meanwhile, DeSantis, a Bronze Star recipient and graduate of Yale University and Harvard law, has scored endorsements from President Trump and Fox News celebrities while reminding voters that he stood up to Big Sugar, which has poured money into Putnam’s campaign.
The knock against DeSantis is that he kowtows to the president. The knock against Putnam is that he kowtows to any business interest with a campaign check.
Regardless of who wins, count on Republicans rallying behind their guy. Because, unlike Democrats — who sometimes turn into pouty, “I’m voting for Jill Stein!” defeatists after their preferred candidate loses — Republicans usually unite after a primary.
Democrats: Gwen Graham and Chris King
Democrats have two strong choices.
Graham, a former U.S. rep, probably gives the Democrats the best chance to win in November. She’s smart, tested and
appeals to independent voters, especially women.
The daughter of former Florida Gov. Bob Graham grew up on the knee of this legendary policy wonk — and soaked it all in. As a result, she’s knowledgeable on the issues, especially strong on public education (having worked for as an attorney for the Leon County schools) and knows this state’s landscape better than some cartographers.
Plus, she’s the only Dem who has proven she can beat the GOP, having booted a Republican incumbent out of his Congressional seat in 2014 … in a slightly red district, no less.
Graham has some moderate stances, having crossed both Nancy Pelosi and President Barack Obama, which drives some party loyalists mad. But frankly, the things that irk some progressives are the same things that make Republicans nervous — because they fear Graham would give them the toughest fight.
The other strong candidate is Winter Park’s Chris King, who may be the purest candidate on either side.
He entered the race as a successful businessman unbeholden to anyone. The affordable-housing exec took on Big Sugar before anyone else and boldly staked out a position opposed to the death penalty while other Dems hemmed and hawed about personally disliking executions but being willing to sign death warrants.
Frankly, King has pushed the field closer to solid progressive platforms. He’s smart, quick and breaks the mold of your typical politician and Democrat, talking proudly about his faith as a motive for helping the meek and says he refuses to let conservatives co-opt Christianity in ugly ways.
The rub is that King is still pretty unknown and might struggle against a Putnam or DeSantis powerhouse. But he’s also fearless and largely baggage-free.
As for the other main Dems, Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum might be the guy you’d want in a debate. His rhetoric is fiery and soaring. His stances are strong. And he was fighting the NRA long before it was fashionable. But Tallahassee’s City Hall was embroiled in an FBI scandal during his tenure. Though the feds haven’t targeted Gillum, the taint remains and has Republicans salivating.
The other two main Dems — former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and South Florida billionaire businessman Jeff Greene — are the selffinanced candidates. Levine’s tenure in office earned him almost as many critics as fans, and he has some unflattering business headlines from his past that give the party pause.
And Democrats have already once rejected Greene, who mounted a messy campaign for U.S. Senate in 2010 that made more headlines for his infamous parties with Mike Tyson and Lindsay Lohan than it did for serious policy issues.
The primary vote is Aug. 28. The last day to register to vote or pick or switch parties before the primary is July 30.