Putnam stresses ‘Florida First’
Candidate addresses head-on Trump endorsement of opponent DeSantis.
“Let’s talk about the elephant in the room,” Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam told hundreds of supporters at a cookout Wednesday night, referring to the endorsement of Putnam’s primary foe, Ron DeSantis, by President Donald Trump.
Trump’s “full endorsement” of U.S. Rep. DeSantis in June and appearance with him at a July 31 Tampa rally helped DeSantis surge to a big lead in a primary that began with Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Putnam as the frontrunner.
“I support our president’s agenda,” Putnam told the crowd Wednesday night at the South Florida Fairgrounds in unincorporated West Palm Beach. “President Trump ran on a plan and he’s working on implementing that plan. No surprises. My opponent’s not running on a plan, he’s running on an endorsement. And Florida deserves better than that.”
Putnam touted his knowledge of Florida and grassroots organization at a picturesque sunset event. He boasted that he knows where Chokoloskee is (it’s in Collier County). He said his campaign has knocked on 400,000 doors. And he pointed to the crowd that spilled out of a pavilion where he spoke.
“This is what our politics was meant to be ... Campaigns are supposed to bring the candidate to the people, not just beam them in from an out-of-state television studio,” said Putnam, referring to DeSantis’ frequent appearances on Fox News.
DeSantis took a double-digit lead in some polls, leading Trump to boast about the power of his endorsement at a rally in West Virginia on Tuesday night.
“He called me and asked whether or not I could endorse him,” Trump said of DeSantis. “He was at 3 (percent), this was a few months ago, he was at 3 and I gave him a nice shot, a nice little tweet — bing bing — and he went from 3 to like 20-something. And then I gave him my full and total endorsement and he’s now leading by like 19 points.”
Two recent public polls, however, show a tight race.
A Florida Atlantic University poll released Tuesday gives DeSantis a 32-to31 percent lead, well within the poll’s 6.5 percent margin of error. And a SurveyUSA poll last week gave Putnam a within-the-margin-oferror edge of 40 percent to 38 percent.
“We don’t see that in our internals,” DeSantis spokesman David Vasquez said Wednesday of the tight polls. “We’re pretty confident going into election day.”
Republican pollster and consultant Alex Patton, who isn’t affiliated with either campaign, said he suspects the race is getting closer and will test the strength of Putnam’s traditional campaign “ground game” against DeSantis’ star power as a frequent Fox News guest and Trump’s chosen candidate.
“The campaign guy in me has to believe that the two- plus years that Adam has traveled to every nook and cranny in the state has to pay some dividends. The cynical guy in me says go get your hit on Fox TV and nullify it all,” Patton said.
Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who accompanied Putnam Wednesday, said he’s optimistic about the ag commissioner’s chances.
“I am convinced that Adam’s work ethic, his boots on the ground, his organization, his knowledge of Florida, his relationships in Florida and the list goes on and on are the reason he’s going to win,” Lopez-Cantera said.
Lopez-Cantera acknowledged Trump’s endorsement had a big impact, but said, “It may have been too soon. It may have already worn off.”
Putnam, onetime favorite of the Florida political establishment, embraced his newfound status as an underdog and outsider as he roused the crowd Wednesday, saying he represented “Florida first” rather than “the Washington way” of DeSantis.
“I believe, based on this passion and this enthusiasm, that the Florida-first way is going to win out,” Putnam said. “We’re going to get this done. We’re going to shock the world.”