Putnam unfazed as Trump upends GOP race
VENICE — If the pressure is getting to Adam Putnam, it wasn’t evident Friday during a campaign rally in Venice.
Putnam, the GOP agriculture commissioner and candidate for governor, is in the fight of his political life against a surging primary opponent who has the endorsement of President Donald Trump.
Trump’s eldest son was in Florida last week to campaign for Ron DeSantis, the conservative congressman giving Putnam a strong challenge from the right.
The president is reported to be heading to the state this week to campaign for DeSantis.
Long seen as the clear favorite to win the GOP nomination for governor, Putnam is now viewed as extremely vulnerable. Politico reported last week that respected GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio has DeSantis up by 12 percentage points in his latest survey.
His back against the wall, Putnam — who has been climbing the political ladder in Florida for two decades — seemed at ease Friday as he delivered the same folksy “Florida first” speech he has been fine-tuning for years.
“I’m a farmer, I’m a small-business owner, I’m a fifth-generation Floridian,” Putnam told the crowd of 75 gathered at a restored 1927 train depot. “I’m committed to the long-term well-being of our state.”
Putnam continued to criticize DeSantis for basing much of his campaign around Fox News appearances. DeSantis is known for defending Trump on Fox.
Florida’s problems can’t be fixed “from a Washington studio,” Putnam said.
Asked after the event about Trump’s influence on the race, Putnam said, “I support the president’s agenda; I support President Trump’s improvements to our economy, the fact that businesses are growing, our GDP is growing.”
It’s not just the Trump factor that has been working against Putnam, though.
Putnam blasted DeSantis for missing a vote Wednesday on legislation the congressman co-sponsored. The bill is aimed at “supporting the officers and personnel who carry out the important mission of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” The implication: DeSantis is not doing his job.
“You can’t just talk about it,” Putnam said. “You gotta do it. You gotta be there. You gotta roll up your sleeves and get involved in each one of our communities, the big ones and the small ones. You can’t run for governor from a studio. You gotta be in a train depot, and you gotta be at the barbecue restaurant and you gotta be at Gecko’s ...”
Yet even as Putnam claimed DeSantis is shirking his duties in Congress, a series of news reports have highlighted problems — documented in a lawsuit and state investigations — with how the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services processed licenses for concealed weapons permits.
“We’ve been very upfront and transparent about this,” Putnam said Friday. “The media blew most of it out of proportion ... when we discovered a problem, we investigated, got to the bottom of it and held people accountable.”
Amid the questions about his management of a key state agency, Putnam also is facing withering criticism for his close ties to powerful special interests.
DeSantis has been aggressive in attacking Putnam, describing him Wednesday during an Orlando appearance as a “career politician” and a “transactional Republican.”
Putnam is the “crown prince of crony capitalism,” DeSantis said, trying to harness the anti-establishment forces that propelled Trump to the presidency.
Putnam supporters expressed concern Friday about the changing complexion of the race.
Venice resident Gary Budway, a retired corrections officer from Michigan, said Putnam has “earned his spot” after years of public service.
Responding to Trump’s endorsement of DeSantis, Budway said the president should “butt out.”
“DeSantis is part of the swamp up there,” he added.