Adam Putnam
Adam Putnam | |
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11th Agriculture Commissioner of Florida | |
In office January 4, 2011 – January 8, 2019 | |
Governor | Rick Scott |
Preceded by | Charles Bronson |
Succeeded by | Nikki Fried |
Chair of the House Republican Conference | |
In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2009 | |
Leader | John Boehner |
Vice Chair | Kay Granger |
Preceded by | Deborah Pryce |
Succeeded by | Mike Pence |
Chair of the House Republican Policy Committee | |
In office February 1, 2006 – January 3, 2007 | |
Leader | Dennis Hastert |
Preceded by | John Shadegg |
Succeeded by | Thad McCotter |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 12th district | |
In office January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2011 | |
Preceded by | Charles Canady |
Succeeded by | Dennis Ross |
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 63rd district | |
In office November 5, 1996 – November 7, 2000 | |
Preceded by | Dean Saunders[1] |
Succeeded by | Dennis Ross |
Personal details | |
Born | Adam Hughes Putnam July 31, 1974 Bartow, Florida, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Melissa Putnam |
Children | 4 |
Education | University of Florida (BS) |
Website | Official website |
Adam Hughes Putnam (born July 31, 1974) is an American politician who served as the 11th Commissioner of Agriculture of Florida from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives for five terms, representing the Central Florida-based 12th congressional district. He chaired the House Republican Conference from 2007 to 2009.
In May 2017, he announced he was running for Governor of Florida in the 2018 election. Putnam was initially considered the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, but lost the primary to U.S. Representative Ron DeSantis. DeSantis went on to win the general election against Tallahassee mayor and Democratic nominee Andrew Gillum.[2]
He has been the CEO of Ducks Unlimited since 2019.
Early life, education, and early career
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Putnam was born in Bartow, Florida, the son of Sarah Elizabeth (née Hughes) and William Dudley Putnam II. He graduated from Bartow High School and attended the University of Florida, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in food and resource economics. He is an Episcopalian.[3]
In 1996, Putnam was elected to the Florida House of Representatives, representing parts of Polk County. At 22 years old, he was the youngest person ever elected to the Florida Legislature.[4] He was reelected to a second term in 1998. While in the state house, he served as chair of the Agriculture Committee.[5]
U.S. House of Representatives
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In 2000, Putnam ran for the U.S. House seat being vacated by retiring Congressman Charles Canady. The district, numbered the 12th, included all of Putnam's home constituency as well as other areas of Polk County and rural Central Florida. He faced no opposition in the Republican primary, and defeated Democrat Mike Stedem in the general election, 57 to 43%.[6] Taking office when he was 26 years old, Putnam was the youngest member of Congress from 2001 to 2005. Putnam was reelected in 2002 to a redistricted seat that included most of Polk County as well as parts of neighboring Hillsborough and Osceola Counties.[7] He was reelected three more times after that, serving a total of ten years in Congress.
Committee assignments
[edit]Tenure
[edit]On October 10, 2002, Putnam voted in favor of authorizing the invasion of Iraq.[8]
In February 2006, Putnam became a member of the House leadership, assuming the role of chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, the fifth-ranking Republican leadership position in the House. In November 2006, Putnam was elected by his colleagues as House Republican Conference Chairman, the third-highest ranking position.[9] Following House Republican losses in the 2008 general election, he resigned his post as Conference Chairman. In 2010 The Florida Independent reported that Putnam had earmarked $100,000 for an abscission chemical used in citrus harvesting that The Florida Independent said would benefit his family's citrus business.[10]
Putnam was a signatory to the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.[11] The American Conservative Union gave him a 91% evaluation.
Gonzales' ouster
[edit]After the numerous calls by Democrats, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), Putnam became the top Republican in either house to call for the ouster of then U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. "For the good of the nation, I think it is time for fresh leadership at the Department of Justice", Putnam said.[12] This was met with surprise by many Republicans, who were remaining silent on the Gonzales issue. However, Putnam mentioned that there remained severe discontent within the GOP circle over Gonzales and as the Chairman of the House Republican Conference, he thought that it was important to send this message out.[12]
Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services
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In February 2009, Putnam declared himself a candidate for Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services in the 2010 election and that he would not seek a sixth term in Congress.[13] Putnam won the election over Democratic opponent Scott Maddox with 56% of the vote. He was reelected in 2014.
As head of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Putnam was responsible for issuing concealed weapons permits after conducting background checks on applicants.[14][15] An investigation by the Office of Inspector General found that from February 2016 until May 2017 the department stopped conducting national background checks on applicants for concealed weapons permits, because a worker could not log into an FBI database. More than 100,000 concealed carry permits were issued during this period without full screening. Putnam later said that 365 applicants should have been further backgrounded, and that 291 permits ended up being revoked for noncriminal disqualifying factors (drug abuse, mental illness, fugitives).[16] Putnam pointed out that concealed carry permits do not allow gun purchases, which require a background check at the time of purchase. Florida Governor Rick Scott said that the incident was "disturbing" and "concerning" adding, "People need to do their jobs. This is public safety."[14] Additional failures in conducting proper reviews of gun permit applications were reported in a 2012 report of the inspector general, including the issuance of gun licenses to felons, which occurred during the first years of Putnam's tenure, although certain instances occurred before Putnam's tenure.[17]
In response to the 2013 series Worst Charities in America by the Tampa Bay Times and the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR)—the result of a year-long joint investigation,[18] in 2014 Putnam crafted CS/SB 638 and CS/HB 629—legislation that was intended to crack down on "fraudulent and deceptive organizations" to prevent them from misusing charitable contributions donated by residents of Florida. The legislation "had passed two of their three referenced committees" by March 2014.[19][20]
Gubernatorial campaign
[edit]In May 2017, Putnam announced his campaign for the governorship of Florida in the 2018 election to succeed term-limited Republican Rick Scott. He was one of eight candidates running for the Republican nomination.
Putnam placed second in the primary election, which was won by U.S. Representative Ron DeSantis.[2] However, as of April 2018, Putnam's campaign had acquired $19.2 million in campaign contributions, far more than any other candidate.[21] His PAC, Florida Grown, received large contributions from The Walt Disney Company ($824,442), Publix ($736,000), Florida Power and Light ($587,060) and U.S. Sugar ($560,000).[22] The donations from Publix to Putnam drew public protest, including a die-in at a Publix supermarket, resulting from Putnam's claim of being a "proud NRA sell-out".[23][24]
Electoral history
[edit]Florida House of Representatives 63rd district election, 1996 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Adam Putnam | 23,717 | 57.26 |
Democratic | Bob Stein | 17,703 | 42.74 |
Florida House of Representatives 63rd district election, 1998 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Adam Putnam (inc.) | 20,568 | 61.76 |
Democratic | Kim Grady | 12,736 | 38.24 |
Florida's 12th congressional district election, 2000 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Adam Putnam | 125,224 | 57.0 |
Democratic | Mike Stedem | 94,395 | 43.0 |
Write-in | Rubye Harrison | 3 | 0.0 |
Write-in | Don Kennedy | 3 | 0.0 |
Florida's 12th congressional district election, 2002 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Adam Putnam (inc.) | n/a | 100.0 |
Florida's 12th congressional district Republican primary election, 2004 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Adam Putnam (inc.) | 42,605 | 92.3 |
Republican | Robert Wirengard | 3,546 | 7.7 |
Florida's 12th congressional district election, 2004 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Adam Putnam (inc.) | 179,204 | 64.9 |
Democratic | Bob Hagenmaier | 96,965 | 35.1 |
Florida's 12th congressional district election, 2006 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Adam Putnam (inc.) | 124,452 | 69.1 |
No Party Affiliation | Joe Viscusi | 34,976 | 19.4 |
No Party Affiliation | Ed Bowlin | 20,636 | 11.5 |
Florida's 12th congressional district election, 2008 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Adam Putnam (inc.) | 185,698 | 57.5 |
Democratic | Doug Tudor | 137,465 | 42.5 |
Florida Agriculture Commissioner election, 2010 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Adam Putnam | 2,908,086 | 55.9 |
Democratic | Scott Maddox | 1,983,277 | 38.1 |
TEA Party | Ira Chester | 203,598 | 3.9 |
No Party Affiliation | Thad Hamilton | 103,717 | 2.0 |
Florida Agriculture Commissioner election, 2014 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Adam Putnam (inc.) | 3,342,392 | 58.7 |
Democratic | Thaddeus "Thad" Hamilton | 2,356,178 | 41.3 |
Write-in | Jeffrey Obos | 213 | 0.0 |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Florida_Governor_Republican_Primary_Election_Results_by_County%2C_2018.svg/220px-Florida_Governor_Republican_Primary_Election_Results_by_County%2C_2018.svg.png)
- DeSantis—70–80%
- DeSantis—60–70%
- DeSantis—50–60%
- DeSantis—40–50%
- Putnam—40–50%
- Putnam—50–60%
- Putnam—60–70%
- Putnam—70–80%
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Ron DeSantis | 913,679 | 56.5% | |
Republican | Adam Putnam | 591,449 | 36.6% | |
Republican | Bob White | 32,580 | 2.0% | |
Republican | Timothy M. Devine | 21,320 | 1.3% | |
Republican | Bob Langford | 19,771 | 1.2% | |
Republican | Bruce Nathan | 14,487 | 0.9% | |
Republican | Don Baldauf | 13,125 | 0.8% | |
Republican | John Joseph Mercadante | 11,602 | 0.7% | |
Total votes | 1,618,013 | 100.0% |
References
[edit]- ^ "House of Representatives". January 13, 2018. Archived from the original on January 13, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
- ^ a b Bouffard, Kevin (2017-05-01). "Ag Commissioner Adam Putnam running for governor". Lakeland Ledger. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
- ^ Whiteside, Mary Ann Chick (2006-12-16). "Religion in the House by state and by faith". M Live. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ D'Angelo, Bob (2016-11-11). "College student becomes youngest elected to Florida House of Representatives". WFXT. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
- ^ "Florida House of Representatives - Adam H. Putnam - 1998 - 2000 ( Speaker Thrasher )". www.myfloridahouse.gov. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
- ^ "Florida Department of State - 2000 Election Results". results.elections.myflorida.com. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
- ^ "2002 Congressional Plan". maps.flsenate.gov. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
- ^ "H.J.Res. 114 (107th): Authorization for Use of Military Force Against ... -- House Vote #455 -- Oct 10, 2002". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
- ^ "CNN.com - CNN Political Ticker". Retrieved 2021-08-10.
- ^ "Florida Independent Business Finance Legal & Health News". Retrieved 2021-08-10.
- ^ "Americans for Tax Reform". 2009-04-23. Archived from the original on April 23, 2009. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
- ^ a b Smith, Donna (2007-04-20). "House Republican leader says Gonzales should go". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
- ^ "Putnam to give up seat". The Politico. Associated Press. 2009-02-01. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- ^ a b Ceballos, Ana. "Adam Putnam: His agency called for audit that found missing background checks and fired worker". Naples News.
- ^ Contorno, Steve. "Adam Putnam's office stopped concealed weapons background checks for a year because it couldn't log in". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
- ^ Steve Almasy; Ralph Ellis. "Florida revoked 291 concealed weapons permits after an employee stopped reviewing background checks". CNN. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
- ^ "Concealed weapon permit review finds mistakes in Florida". ABC News.
- ^ Hundley, Kris; Taggart, Kendall (November 14, 2013). "Lack of regulation and meager penalties allow worst charities to thrive". Tampa Bay Times. Times/CIR special report. Retrieved December 20, 2017. republished and updated on October 2, 2017
- ^ "Legislative Link". United Way. March 21, 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
- ^ Mitchell, Tia (January 14, 2014). "Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam proposing 'complete rewrite of Florida's charity laws'". Tampa Bay Times. Tallahassee, Florida. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
- ^ Dixon, Matt (April 11, 2018). "Putnam campaign war chest larger than other major gubernatorial candidates combined". Politico. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- ^ Swisher, Skyler; Chokey, Aric (May 30, 2018). "From Disney to Big Sugar, Publix isn't the only big-name Florida business backing Adam Putnam". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- ^ Eltagouri, Marwa (May 25, 2018). "Publix halts donations to self-described 'NRA sellout' amid boycott, 'die-in' protests by David Hogg". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Publix halts campaign donations minutes before students stage 'die-in' protests".
External links
[edit]- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- "Opie's All Grown Up Now", U.S. News & World Report, December 3, 2006
- "Opie?", National Review, July 30, 2007
- 1974 births
- 21st-century American legislators
- American Episcopalians
- Bartow High School alumni
- Florida Commissioners of Agriculture
- Living people
- Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives
- People from Bartow, Florida
- Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida
- University of Florida College of Agricultural and Life Sciences alumni