The leading contenders for Florida's 2018 Republican gubernatorial nomination are responding to President Trump's decision to end the Obama-era program protecting 'dreamers' from deportation in markedly different ways, with potential implications for the state of play in the race.

  • President's decision has unique consequences for Florida
  • Florida home to roughly 75,000 DREAMers
  • Embracing President's decision could be risky

In moving to phase out the five-year-old Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program unless Congress acts to codify it, the president has effectively put many of his fellow Republicans on the spot. The move forces them to choose between showing allegiance to the program's beneficiaries or the conservative nationalists who helped fuel Trump's rise to power.

The choice is especially complex for Republicans in Florida, a multicultural state home to roughly 75,000 dreamers and millions of legal immigrants who support DACA.

Two of the party's gubernatorial candidates, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and state Sen. Jack Latvala (R-Clearwater) are splitting the difference. They agreed with the need for congressional action, but broke with the president on his philosophical inclination to deport all illegal immigrants, even those who arrived in the country decades ago with their parents.

"We must lead with a compassionate heart, not by punishing children," Latvala said. "Florida is a diverse state and our economic success depends on a strong diverse workforce. If DACA ends in six months it will have a disastrous impact not only on hundreds of thousands of bright, promising young people but also on our business climate."

Putnam, who recently endured withering criticism from moderate Republicans for a tweet proclaiming he'd be a "sellout" to the National Rifle Association, appears to have largely taken a cue that ceding his middle-of-the-road platform for more conservative stances isn't an option. His reaction to the White House's DACA decision was, not surprisingly, measured.

"The children of illegal immigrants should not be punished for their parents’ wrongdoings," Putnam said in a statement. "I am glad to see the President will allow Congress to develop a solution to replace Obama’s unconstitutional program.”

The announcements by Latvala and Putnam left open a potentially vast right flank that, for the moment, is being occupied by House Speaker Richard Corcoran (R-Land O'Lakes). Corcoran, whose political committee has raised millions of dollars for a potential gubernatorial bid, is fully embracing the president's decision and says Congress should remain silent.

"The rule of law is the rule of law and no one should be above it," Corcoran wrote Tuesday. "Anything less would have been a tacit acceptance of President Obama’s backdoor amnesty plan for illegal immigrants.  And while Congress has shown little ability to get anything done (think repeal and replace of Obamacare), I just hope they don’t turn the opportunity the president has given them to deal with this illegal immigration problem into their own backdoor amnesty plan.”

While polls show President Trump is deeply unpopular with voters at large, they also indicate his popularity among Republicans, and especially self-described conservatives, is quite high. As a midterm election cycle history suggests should benefit Democrats begins, candidates seeking to embrace the president's agenda could have reason to be hopeful that a conservative coattail effect might materialize.

Embracing the president's DACA decision in wholesale fashion, however, is politically risky in a state like Florida, with a large Hispanic electorate and scores of independent voters, said Trimmel Gomes, a Tallahassee-based policy consultant.

"People empathize," Gomes said. "They have concern for those who may be in jeopardy, people who may be losing their work permits, who may be at risk of losing their school eligibility. It goes to the heart of the issue, and that's why so many conservatives are on the fence."