Congressional candidate Ron DeSantis, in a competitive open-seat race for the GOP nomination in the 6th district, today picked up the endorsement of former Rep. Adam Putnam, the Sunshine State’s  commissioner of agriculture.

“Ron DeSantis is a true conservative we can trust to reform Washington, D.C. I’m happy to endorse Ron because I know that he understands we need to get our economy going again by reducing the reach of government and lowering the burden it places on our job creators and innovators,” Putnam said.

“Trying to reform Congress is a job I’m all too familiar with, and we need dedicated conservatives like Ron to stand up for our values now more than ever,” he added.

DeSantis, a retired Navy JAG officer and current Navy reservist, faces former Ruth’s Chris CEO Craig Miller, Jacksonville City Councilman Richard Clark, state Rep. Fred Costello and others in the Aug. 14 GOP primary. DeSantis got the endorsement of FreedomWorks last month.

The coastal district, an open seat after redistricting, is comfortably Republican, so the winner of the primary is likely to be coming to Congress.