Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback greeted supporters at a Taco Bell in Jacksonville on March 22, 2026. Apparently he really likes Crunchwraps. Credit: via James Fishback/Facebook
Republican James Fishback, a 31-year-old investment firm CEO and “rage bait” candidate for Florida governor this year, met a packed house of mostly young men at a campaign event in Orlando Monday night, staged at a Taco Bell Cantina in downtown.
Fishback admitted to the crowd that he’s been banned from Waffle House, IHOP and Tindr (after previously using the dating app to promote his campaign). “In what is perhaps the best analogy for modern dating life for men, IHOP slid into my DMs, invited me over and then banned me,” he joked Monday, making a point to add, “Denny’s is awesome.”
A political newcomer who’s earned the support of white nationalist influencer Nick Fuentes and alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate, Fishback kicked off the event by ordering a Crunchwrap at the counter and an “alcoholic margarita” after wading his way through a raucous crowd of attendees. Caught on mic, Fishback quietly asked the cashier what type of liquor is typically used in a margarita after being asked how he’d like his “alcoholic margarita” to be prepared.
The young Millennial’s lack of cocktail knowledge, however, did not seem to deter his crowd of supporters, who roared and enthusiastically applauded Fishback’s pledges to divest state funds from Israel, ban Flock surveillance cameras, and ensure Floridians can utilize their right to free speech to call Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal” if they’d like.
“Together we will defeat the slanderous lie of anti-semitism,” said Fishback, who’s been accused of espousing anti-Semitism, due in part to his embrace of the slur “goyslop” and a level of criticism of the Israeli government that is rare in establishment GOP circles.
“Look, I want to be clear,” he said. “I condemn the hatred of Jews, I condemn the hatred of Muslims, and yes, I condemn the hatred of the most persecuted group in America: Christians.”
An estimated 350 people attended the Orlando campaign event Monday night, according to Fishback, which he told Orlando Weekly was organized with just 48 hours’ notice.
“There was at least 100 people outside who could not get in,” he told the Weekly in a phone call Tuesday. “It was an absolute madhouse, but I was honored to be there.”
As for the “war criminal” comment, he told us, “I will both defend everyone’s right to say that Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, but I’ll also make sure that there is an honest and earnest debate that everyone can have.”
“I’m a radical free speech absolutist, and that’s what our founding fathers were, and I hope to live up to their standards,” he said.
Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback campaigns at the Taco Bell Cantina in downtown Orlando on March 30, 2026. Credit: via James Fishback/Facebook
A long shot candidate targeting ‘goyslop’
With incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis term-limited from seeking re-election this year, Fishback is facing off against Trump-endorsed candidate Byron Donalds — a Black Republican Congressman whom Fishback has provocatively referred to as a “slave” — and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins in the upcoming August primary election for governor.
Fishback, polling in the single digits, is considered a long shot, “radical” candidate in the 2026 gubernatorial race. Nonetheless, he appears to have stirred up a fiery base in certain Gen-Zers — who are increasingly leaning toward the political right — in addition to independents who don’t see a political home in either major party.
“The left wing and the right wing are both wings attached to the same corrupt, uni-party bird,” he said Monday night at Taco Bell, holding up a copy of George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984.
Fishback, seemingly drawing on the winning NYC mayoral campaign of 34-year-old Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, has highlighted affordability on the campaign trail, fleetingly mentioning other hot-button, politically divisive issues like immigration and book bans.
“I’m not in the business of the culture war,” he argued. “The only culture war I am fighting is on behalf of Jesus Christ.”
“The only culture war I am fighting is on behalf of Jesus Christ.”
James Fishback, Republican candidate for Florida governor
Pointing to the higher cost of living and the difficulty young people have buying homes, he argues politicians in both major parties are failing everyday Floridians.
“Forget that gas prices are now $4 a gallon. Forget the fact that it is nearly impossible for anyone under the age of 35 to buy a home. Forget the fact that the economy is not in a Golden Age — the good news is that the Florida Republicans in Tallahassee just renamed the Palm Beach airport after Donald Trump,” said Fishback, who described himself Monday as “a bit of an edge-lord.”
“Listen, at the end of the day, I’d be happy for that airport to be named after President Trump,” he added, after facing some heckling from a rally attendee. “I’d be happy to, but that means asserting the undeniable truth that no American should die for Israel.”
At least 13 U.S. military service members have died so far in the ongoing Israel-U.S. war on Iran that began Feb. 28, 2026, according to PBS News. The conflict is backed by the Trump administration. Fishback has openly criticized the war in Iran and (drawing a contrast in the gubernatorial race) unapologetically described his fellow GOP candidate Byron Donalds as a “slave” to AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. It serves as a powerful pro-Israel lobbying force and piggy bank for politicians in both major parties.
“[Donalds] took $45 million from AIPAC, from corporate donors and from a hedge fund billionaire who was named 39 times in the Epstein files,” Fishback claimed in his conversation with the Weekly. “He is a slave, and if you want me to stop calling him that, he should give back the money to the billionaires who are trying to destroy our state, to the foreign interests who are passing an anti-semitism law that punishes Muslims, Christians, and, yes, even Jews.”
Fishback has faced blowback for his comments about Donalds, and has faced scrutiny for allegedly dating a minor when he was 27 (Fishback has denied this), his ritzy taste in wristwatches, the repossession of his Tesla and the legal challenges initiated by his former employer, New York-based hedge fund Greenlight Capital.
Make Florida affordable again
On the affordability front, Fishback has attempted to appeal to the everyday worker through a proposed 25 percent raise for public-sector workers — including cops, firefighters and teachers.
He also pledged to deploy Florida’s National Guard to get homeless people off the streets on day one as governor (later explaining to the Weekly that he believes it’s the state’s responsibility to prioritize funding for shelters and long-term housing programs).
He wants to create a $10,000 down payment home assistance program for young couples — who are increasingly being priced out of the housing market — and provide paid maternity leave for young mothers who can’t afford not to work.
“I believe that people are happiest when they are married and when they’re having children, as opposed to sleeping around, being childless in their 50s,” he told the Weekly. Of those who choose to remain childless, he said, “I would ask you to reevaluate your decision,” while adding, “but of course, the state of Florida is not going to compel you to get married and to have children.”
Fishback, a self-described “pro-life” Christian, said he regularly hears from young people who want kids, but hold back because they can’t afford the cost of housing and other basic living costs on top of childbirth and raising a kid.
“How can we be pro-life,” he posited, “and tell a Black mom who lives on the west side of Orlando that we’re pro-life, but we’re not going to help cover the cost of childbirth? That we’re pro-life, but we’re not going to make sure that her employer gives her paid maternity leave? That we’re pro-life, but we’re not going to provide prenatal or postpartum care?”
This kind of rhetoric aligns with an advancing goal of the anti-abortion movement to fund unregulated anti-abortion centers (often run by religious organizations) that offer things such as free diapers (for a limited time) and baby clothing, in the service of persuading pregnant people not to get an abortion.
Fishback admitted that, if elected governor, he would like to see all of Florida’s remaining abortion clinics shut down. The state already currently bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. “I believe that women deserve a choice, and that choice is life,” he told the Weekly. “And right now, we don’t have a health care system, a political system, an economic system that actually venerates and celebrates life.”
“I believe that women deserve a choice, and that choice is life.”
James Fishback, Republican candidate for Florida Governor
It’s unclear whether his candidacy will survive the Republican primary election this August, however. President Donald Trump, who’s politically popular in Florida, has already endorsed Fishback’s leading opponent, Donalds. Gen-Z voters, a key base of Fishback’s campaign, have historically demonstrated low turnout come election time. He also faces a major fundraising gap.
Still, Fishback told the Weekly that his campaign is continuing to build up its get-out-the-vote operation and argued that low voter turnout among young people is more to do with the fact that they haven’t “felt compelled by something bigger” to participate in the electoral process.
“They want someone who will stand up and fight for them,” he said. “Yes, fight the lunatics in the Democrat Party, but also fight the lunatics in the Republican Party who are doing nothing to fight for affordability in our state.”
DeSantis is term-limited. Whoever wins the Republican primary this August will then have to face off against the Democratic nominee for Florida governor — although a Democrat is not expected to win a state where Republicans have a more than 1 million voter registration edge.
The most high-profile Democrats currently in the running include Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and Republican-turned-Democrat David Jolly, a former U.S. House representative whom Fishback has described as a “woke loser.”
The primary election day this year is Aug. 18, 2026. The voter registration deadline is July 20.
Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Bluesky | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
Related Stories
Trump said he had the right to vote by mail-in ballot in Florida’s special election Tuesday ‘because I’m president’
Samuel Vilchez Santiago, a Gen-Z Democrat, has already earned the endorsement of incumbent Rep. Johanna López for the Florida House District 43 seat in Orlando.
The bill also removes student IDs as an acceptable form of identification when voting at the polls
Related
