POLL: Rep. Ron DeSantis Leads Putnam and Corcoran In Republican Gubernatorial Matchup
By ALLISON NIELSEN, SUNSHINE STATE NEWS // January 2, 2018
DeSantis Leads Putnam by three points in 3-way race
ABOVE VIDEO: Rep. Ron DeSantis on Obama’s free pass for Hezbollah. (Fox News Video)
(SUNSHINE STATE NEWS) – With a new year comes a new poll suggesting Florida Congressman (and President Donald Trump’s hand-pick) Ron DeSantis has a slight edge over his possible Republican gubernatorial opponents.
A new poll from Remington Research Group found DeSantis — who has not officially declared his candidacy for governor, yet — besting Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam and Florida House of Representatives Speaker Richard Corcoran by several points.
DeSantis routes both Putnam and Corcoran in a hypothetical matchup, taking 28 percent of the vote to Putnam’s 25 percent.
Corcoran received only three percent of the Republican primary vote in the hypothetical robopoll matchup, while a significantly larger portion of voters — 44 percent — said they are undecided as to who they’d vote for in the GOP primary.
When the options were narrowed to two — DeSantis and Putnam — DeSantis once again narrowly took the lead over the state Ag Commissioner, taking 30 percent to Putnam’s 29 percent.
The only other declared candidate besides Putnam, former Sen. Jack Latvala, who resigned last month as a result of a sexual misconduct scandal, was not included in the poll.
DeSantis has represented Florida’s 6th District in Congress since 2013 but widely flew under the radar until recent months when political insiders began speculating he would make a bid for Florida governor.
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DeSantis’ first big brush with gubernatorial publicity happened last month, when President Donald Trump tweeted his support for DeSantis, a potential boon to the Congressman’s gubernatorial aspirations.
DeSantis and Trump had met several weeks prior aboard Air Force Once before Trump made a public appearance at a Pensacola rally supporting failed U.S. Sen. and alleged child molester Roy Moore.
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On Dec. 22, Trump publicly endorsed DeSantis for the state’s highest office, his first foray into Florida politics for the 2018 election cycle.
“Congressman Ron DeSantis is a brilliant young leader, Yale and then Harvard Law, who would make a GREAT Governor of Florida,” Trump wrote. “He loves our Country and is a true FIGHTER!”
DeSantis had told Fox News he was thankful for the president’s support.
“I can tell you that when that tweet went out, the amount of buzzing on my phone from calls and texts, I thought the phone was malfunctioning or there was something going on,” DeSantis said of the endorsement.
“When he tweets and he has 100 million people that are seeing that, it’s a really really big deal, so I really appreciate the kind words from the president.”
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