Putnam, the state’s agriculture commissioner and a fifth-generation Floridian, enters the 2018 race as the leading candidate to replace Gov. Rick Scott, who will leave office because of term limits and is expected to run for the U.S. Senate.
Putnam, 42, brings a wealth of political experience to the campaign. Beginning as a 22-year-old, he served in the Florida House and then moved to Congress, where he spent a decade and rose to the third-highest Republican leadership post in the U.S. House. He was elected to the state Cabinet in 2010 and will finish his second term as agriculture commissioner next year.
Robert Beattie, a 60-year-old Republican who worked nearly three decades in the phosphate industry as a welder, said he likes Putnam’s experience.
“I appreciate that big time,” said Beattie. “His experience, his breadth and knowledge of what’s going on in Florida.”
In his 16-minute speech, Putnam, dressed casually in a long-sleeved blue-checked shirt and khaki pants, emphasized his small-town roots, growing up in a citrus and cattle business that his family founded. He recalled the freezes of the 1980s that devastated the crops.
