JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – During a visit Thursday to a Jacksonville youth foundation, Mayor Lenny Curry publicly announced his support for Congressman Ron DeSantis in the Florida governor's race.
While touring the after school program at the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation with DeSantis, Curry made it known they share similar values.
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"We agree on many things. We've got to be tough on crime. We've got to make sure we get bad guys off the street. We've got to make sure we're investing in young people," Curry said.
Curry continued, "Ron's going to disrupt the status quo as the governor in the state of Florida, and I'm supporting him, voting for him, encouraging folks to get out and vote in the primary."
Jacksonville's spate of violent crime was also a topic Curry said he and DeSantis take seriously.
Adam Putnam's endorsements
Adam Putnam has a number of endorsements from the Jacksonville area, including law enforcement figures like St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar, Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper and Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels.
Putnam was also endorsed by Jacksonville City Council President Aaron Bowman.
Curry was asked why he chose DeSantis over Putnam, to which he responded:
"Putnam's a friend. We've done many good things together over the years. I think Ron's (DeSantis) the right guy right now."
Florida primary
Nearly 800,000 Florida voters have cast ballots in the state's primary election. The Florida Division of Elections says so far more than 739,000 voters have mailed in their ballots. More than 38,000 people have voted at early voting polling places
Eighteen counties started early voting Monday, but the remaining counties in the state will begin early voting in the next three days.
Florida's primary is Aug. 28.