In latest swipe at right, Adam Putnam camp makes issue of Ron DeSantis’ Koch support

As the gubernatorial campaign of Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam moves forward, the former Republican front-runner finds his operation in the awkward position of warring with prominent elements on the right.

Wednesday, Putnam’s camp spotlighted U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis garnering support from the Koch brothers.

Hours before President Donald Trump‘s rally supporting DeSantis’ campaign in Tampa, Trump blasted the “globalist” Kochs, saying he didn’t “need their money or bad ideas.”

DeSantis, who worked hard for the Kochs’ backing even before getting into the governor’s race, has been endorsed and is benefiting from direct mail against Adam Putnam.

Putnam’s camp wondered: “Is DeSantis happy to accept millions from people against strengthening our borders and negotiating powerful trade deals?”

Contacted for comment, DeSantis’ campaign manager Brad Herold noted that “[u]nlike Amnesty Adam we’re in the stage of the campaign where people are joining it, not leaving it.”

That comment is a reference to reporting from multiple sources suggesting that enthusiasm is flagging among Putnam supporters, many of whom got in early, when Putnam was the prohibitive front-runner in polls.

It was only last week that Putnam went on the offense against DeSantis’ support of the Fair Tax, which would phase out the federal income tax structure and replace it with a simple excise tax on all purchases.

Though considered a regressive measure by some economists and analysts, even on the right, the attack was most notable for inviting active antagonism from Neal Boortz, the conservative talk radio host who has long championed the proposal.

Putnam seems to be evading Boortz, even after days of attempts at dialogue from the “talkmaster.”