Ron DeSantis, backed by Trump, wins Florida's GOP primary over veteran Republican Adam Putnam
Ron DeSantis, a three-term congressman backed by President Donald Trump, won Florida’s GOPÂ gubernatorial primary Tuesday, beating Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
The results of the Democratic primary remain undecided Tuesday night, but the winner is expected to take on both DeSantis and Trump in a nationally-watched general election in November that will test the president’s influence.
In the crowded Democratic primary for governor, voters considered a diverse slate of candidates. Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, a progressive candidate backed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont; former Congresswoman Gwen Graham, who has held a steady hold on the front-runner status throughout the race; former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine;Â Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene; and Orlando businessman Chris King.
Congressman Ron DeSantis is a special person who has done an incredible job. He is running in Tuesdays Primary for Governor of Florida….Strong on Crime, Borders and wants Low Taxes. He will be a great Governor and has my full and total Endorsement!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2018
Graham, who represented a conservative north Florida district in Congress, has been in the race the longest, and early on was considered the front-runner. That status was challenged over the summer by Levine, who used nearly $27 million of his personal money to swamp Florida’s 10 expensive media markets starting in November, far earlier than any other candidate on TV.
The 55-year-old’s primary rivals have poked holes in her congressional voting record and criticized her for being too conservative and not progressive enough to be the Democratic nominee.
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An overview of GOP’s primary race for Fla. governor: Adam Putnam vs. Ron DeSantis
Greene and Levine are both wealthy South Florida Jewish candidates, and from the first moment Greene entered the race, most observers believed he and Levine would fight for the same pool of voters.
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Greene attacked Levine in television ads, most notably one called “Levine Latrine” which used stock video footage from other countries in an attempt to poke holes on the former mayor’s environmental record.
Greene’s campaign, though, unexpectedly pulled nearly all of his television ads last week, which was viewed as a white flag. Across the vast state of Florida, it’s important to be on TV to reach voters in the final days of the campaign. Greene also canceled his election night party, another sign he didn’t see the likelihood of a win.
Gillum has been perceived as the most progressive Democrat in the race. The 39-year-old had the backing of longtime national Democratic donors Tom Steyer and George Soros, and a long list of liberal Hollywood celebrities. His campaign has been pushing the message of a late “surge†in recent weeks, but most public polling had him behind the top tier candidates.
For Republicans, the story has been Trump. As soon as he formally endorsed DeSantis, Putnam’s double-digit polling lead and money advantage evaporated. DeSantis became the favorite in the race even though the Iraq war veteran is fairly new to Florida’s political scene.
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But not Putnam, whose plans to become Florida’s next governor have been decades in the making.
The 44-year-old started his career as an elected official at the age of 22 as a state House representative. The fifth-generation Floridian then went on to serve five years in Congress representing the Central Florida-based 12th congressional district.
With decades of experience in public office, he came into the governor’s race and quickly out-raised all candidates. But spending nearly $30 million against DeSantis seemed not enough to blunt his rise with the power of Trump. DeSantis only spent $16 million in an eight-month period.
Toward the end of the race, Putnam’s fundraising dried up and money from Florida’s political players shifted to DeSantis. This also came after mistakes made by Putnam’s state agency since 2012 were made public. Some errors that haunted his candidacy included lapses in background checks needed to issue concealed weapon permits.
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