At a Mandarin diner Wednesday morning, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Adam Putnam told a group of Jacksonville supporters he is the only candidate with their needs in mind, taking the opportunity to criticize the four leading Democrats in the race, as well as his GOP challenger.
Putnam, the state’s agriculture commissioner and a former state house member, spoke to about 60 members of the Republican Party of Duval County.
He wants to replace Gov. Rick Scott, who is term-limited and running for U.S. Senate.
“They’re so mad about who’s in the White House that they can’t see straight,” said Putnam of the state’s Democrats. He said they are trying to “hijack Florida” and have one priority — replacing President Donald Trump in 2020.
“Make no mistake, the left is coming for Florida,” he told supporters.
Former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and Orlando businessman Chris King are vying for the Democratic nomination in August ahead of a November general election.
Putnam attacked comments made by the Democrats during their April 18 debate in Tampa.
“When three of the four Democrats running for governor say that they start their day by reading The New York Times, I think you have a pretty good idea of where they get their marching orders from,” he said.
Trump criticizes the Times as being unfair to him.
Putnam is one of two bigger-name Republicans in the race, including U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, who represents Florida’s 6th Congressional District, comprising part of Duval County and North Central Florida.
Speaker of the Florida House Richard Corcoran also is likely to run.
Although he didn’t mention DeSantis by name, Putnam told media members that politicians in Washington don’t fix problems Floridians consider important.
He said candidates “cannot run for governor from a D.C. studio,” a quip about frequent appearances by DeSantis on Fox News.
“I’m in people’s living rooms, in their coffee shops and diners,” Putnam said.
“I am spending every single day looking people in the eye, shaking people’s hands and sharing my ‘Florida First’ agenda with them on what I would do as their governor,” he said.
While recent polls show Putnam and DeSantis even, Putnam’s fundraising efforts continue to lead his competitors.
Since announcing his candidacy in May, Putnam has raised more than $26 million through his campaign and political action committee, Florida Grown, according to the Florida Division of Elections.
By comparison, DeSantis raised about $5.3 million since launching his campaign in January.
Only Levine is near Putnam’s level, with more than $11 million raised through March.
Putnam told supporters he’s dedicated to creating jobs and improving the state’s public education system.
“I bring a small business background to this job,” he told the crowd.
“If we are a state that cuts red tape, keeps regulations out of the way, we have unfettered upside for what we can continue to accomplish,” Putnam said.
Part of Putnam’s economic strategy includes changes at public schools, which he said concentrate too much on sending every child to a four-year university, mounting them “with hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debts.”
“I want all of our students to know what all of their options are,” he said. “I want them to know that welders at JaxPort are making six figures.”
Putnam said he wants to fund vocational and technical training from the middle school level and higher with programs that target growing career fields.
“I’m talking about cybersecurity, robotics, coding, health care, the culinary arts,” he said.
The Florida primary election is Aug. 28 and the general election is Nov. 6.