The Trump bump is very real. Soon after Florida Representative Ron DeSantis was endorsed by President Donald Trump in his state’s gubernatorial race, the Congressman shot up to a double-digit lead in the polls over his primary opponent, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam. The Republican Fabrizio-Lee poll taken July 8-12 found that DeSantis jumped to 42 percent overall, leaving Putnam behind at 30 percent “among likely Republican primary voters.”
In fact, when voters told Fabrizio that DeSantis has Trump’s backing, the Congressman received 58 percent approval, compared with Putnam’s 27. As noted by Florida Politics, the poll backs up research from other surveys that have found “a dramatic leap to the top for DeSantis since the two squared off in the nationally-televised debate in Orlando on June 28.” In addition, Fabrizio noted that “DeSantis does far better with older voters who will dominate the primary vote turnout.”
On July 31, DeSantis went on Fox News’ America’s Newsroom to tout his Trump endorsement. DeSantis called the president an “800 pound gorilla in Republican politics” and stated that he thinks voters are looking for the Trump endorsement. That night, the President came to Tampa for a “Trump Rally” where he announced to thousands in the crowd that he was endorsing DeSantis and encouraged them to get out and vote for him in the primary. DeSantis also told Fox News that Republicans should be touting the federal tax cuts which have helped put states like Florida on the right track to economic prosperity. The Florida GOP gubernatorial primary will take place August 28.
The candidates had their final debate August 8, with DeSantis calling out Putnam for being the “errand boy for US Sugar.” Putnam has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from the sugar industry. DeSantis was also quick to point out that Putnam opposed Trump during the 2016 presidential election. He reminded voters that Putnam had called the then-candidate “vile, obscene, dishonorable” and never showed up to a single Trump rally.