Florida House speaker won’t run for governor

TALLAHASSEE — After months of considering a run for governor, Republican House Speaker Richard Corcoran announced Wednesday he will stay out of the race and instead back Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.

The decision means that what once looked like a crowded primary to replace outgoing Republican Gov. Rick Scott will now be a showdown between Putnam and U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis.

“I said for the last year or so that we would look to run for governor or go home,” Corcoran said as he stood with Putnam. “When you look at it, Florida is an expensive state. It costs a lot of money to run I don’t think we have the resources to move forward.”

Corcoran said after making the decision to stay out of the race, backing Putnam was an easy choice.

“I know his character. Adam is sincere, he is authentic, he is principled, he is passionate. He loves this state,” Corcoran said. “Once I made the decision that I wasn’t going to run, I’m definitely not someone who sits on the sidelines, and it took all of 2.2 seconds for me to utter the name Adam Putnam.”

Scott can’t run for reelection because of term limits and is instead running for U.S. Senate. By the end of 2017, it looked like at least four major Republicans would be in the race to replace him. Sen. Jack Latvala entered the race, but later resigned from his position and dropped out after a Senate investigation found he likely groped a woman who worked as a Senate aide.