Janelle Irwin Taylor
Most of the 2010s marked the rise to power for Adam Putnam, one of Florida’s favorite sons.
Some impressive superlatives highlighted his ascension to power. Putnam was elected as the youngest member ever to the Florida House in 1996. He was just 22 at the time.
In 2000 he was elected as the youngest member ever of Congress at the ripe old age of 26. He held that title until 2005.
Enter the beginning of the last decade. In 2010, Putnam opted not to run for a sixth term in Congress in favor of running for Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture.
His rise through the ranks of politics from such a young age, becoming a member of the Cabinet in his mid-30s, hinted early on that he was destined for the Governor’s Mansion.
Few people in Florida can be credited with knowing more, or caring more, about the state than Putnam. He grew up in citrus groves his family had long-owned and those roots paved the way for two things that led to Putnam’s lightning speed rise into politics. First, it gave him something to campaign on that works not just for conservative voters, but to anyone who appreciates a hard day’s labor.
During Putnam’s many campaigns, he always offered a throwback to those farming roots, painting himself as a man who, as he once said in a political ad, knows what it’s like to sweat for his paycheck.
Second, it gave him the means to tackle the heavy financial burden of a statewide political run. His family’s citrus grove earned Putnam substantial wealth. It also gave him access to plenty of campaign donations from the farming industry. Putnam blended the two with expertise, avoiding much of the backlash that can sometimes come from taking money from special interest groups.
It wasn’t just Putnam’s boyish charm and relatability that made it work, it was his political finesse.
But Putnam’s influence on Florida politics is less about his accolades and accomplishments and more about his fall from the political world.
Putnam’s 2018 loss in the Republican gubernatorial primary was a key indicator of the shifting tide of conservatism.
Putnam represented the traditional Republican base. In much the same way Jeb Bush’s light dimmed in 2016, Putnam’s was extinguished in 2018 for much the same reason — Donald Trump.
Putnam was the early favorite to succeed Rick Scott. His loss is credited with one thing — Trump-endorsed Ron DeSantis.
“His ascendancy to what very likely should have been deserved, came in the Trump era, which is the opposite of the kind of conservative Adam is, which is kind of a Reaganesque approach rather than the populist and angry sentiments we’re seeing in the Trump era,” said lobbyist Gus Corbella.
But while Putnam’s adherence to mainstream conservatism highlights the new wave of GOP politics, his tenure and rise through the ranks should not be forgotten and indeed, he will be remembered as the GOP’s foremost statesman.
“Adam is first and foremost a nice man, a nice human being,” Corbella said. “He’s almost too nice to be in politics.”
The next decade in politics won’t likely include Putnam, at least not from an elected capacity.
After suffering the unexpected loss in 2018, Putnam left the political sphere, and Florida, to join the private sector. He’s now the CEO for the conservation group Ducks Unlimited, a position that’s likely paying him a cool half-million a year — the amount his predecessor had most recently reportedly earned.
Putnam and his family moved to Memphis, where the group is headquartered.
