Adam Putnam Will Do or Say Anything to be Florida’s Next Governor

Adam Putnam has been a strong opponent of term limits for decades — until yesterday.

Just a day after DeSantis published an op-ed in U.S. Term Limits supporting a constitutional amendment that would place term limits on school board members, Putnam told the Tampa Bay Times that he now backs term limits.

Before Tuesday, Putnam had spent years speaking out against term limits — and his new position represents a complete 180. In 2000, Putnam said that he opposed terms limits because “voters are the ultimate term limit implementers.” In 2001, Putnam admitted that he voted no during Florida’s 1992 term limits referendum. In 2012, he even claimed that term limits had made Florida lawmakers less effective.

Now, in the heat of an election year, he’s suddenly changed his tune and adopted Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis’s position.

“Adam Putnam will say or do anything to become governor — even if it means morphing into Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump. For decades, Adam Putnam has strongly opposed term limits. But after one op-ed from DeSantis, Putnam immediately flip-flopped and announced he supports term limits,” says FDP spokesperson Kevin Donohoe.

Putnam’s Long History of Opposing Term Limits

In November 2000, Putnam Said, “I Have Always Believed That Voters Are the Ultimate Term Limit Implementers.” According to the Associated Press, “Canady and Fowler declined to seek re-election to keep term-limit promises, but neither of their successors has made such a pledge. ‘I have always believed that voters are the ultimate term limit implementers,’ Putnam said. ‘The voters are pretty effective at giving those two-year job evaluations.'” —Associated Press, 11/24/2000

In May 2012, Putnam Opposed Term Limits. According to a column by Daniel Ruth in the Tampa Bay Times, “Stricter ethics laws have made it more difficult for bipartisan collegiality. And term limits make sure members rarely develop any expertise on their assigned committees, only enhancing the influence of lobbyists. ‘The eight-year (term limit) time frame virtually guarantees the likelihood of someone spending more than one term as a committee chair is almost nil because it suggests you are ineffective,’ Putnam said. And so the rush is always on to move up to higher-profile, influential committees that have greater fundraising potential.”

Putnam Said He Voted Against a Term Limit Referendum. PRESS: “Do you believe in term limits? Have you taken the pledge? And are you going to stick by it?” PUTNAM: “Well, I don’t believe — I have not taken the pledge. I believe term limits are implemented every two years by the voting public for the House of Representatives. I voted against them when they were on the referendum in the state of Florida. And so therefore, I did not take the pledge.”