Liberal group launches online campaign labeling DeSantis as new GOP front-runner and “Trump’s #1 fan”

by | May 8, 2018


A liberal Democratic group is setting its sights on Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis, who it says appears to be the new front-runner in the race, while suggesting  the other GOP candidate in the contest, Adam Putnam, is “weak.”

American Bridge has set up a website on which it calls the Republican primary contest in Florida a “dumpster fire” and unveils an online video targeting DeSantis and his ties to President Donald Trump.

“Adam Putnam,long believed to be the front-runner, has turned in a remarkably weak performance, and Congressman Ron DeSantis increasingly looks like the new front-runner in the Republican primary,” the message from American Bridge President Bradley Beychok on the website says. “As a permanent fixture on FOX News, an entrenched member of the Tea Party, and Trump’s personally endorsed nominee, on paper, he looks like a GOP primary voter’s dream.”

The video starts with the words: “Donald Trump’s #1 Fan.” It strings together several comments from DeSantis in which he compliments Trump. In one clip, DeSantis calls Trump “the best we’ve had as President in a long time.”

“The same profile that makes DeSantis a strong primary candidate, however, will be toxic in the general election, as demonstrated by historical trends, current polling, recent Democratic gains in the state, and the swing nature of Florida’s electorate,” the website goes on to say.

Recent polls have suggested the race between Putnam and DeSantis is close. The Capitolist’s HorseRace Index, which averages the polls taken to date using a weighted formula, shows  Putnam leading DeSantis by a slim .5 percent. Putnam has an average of 20.4 percent, followed by DeSantis with a 19.9 percent average.

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