The Front Line, a Republican group aligned with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, announced a $400,000 campaign targeting James Fishback over statements the group characterizes as antisemitic. The artificial intelligence-generated ad depicts Fishback as a talking fish making racist comments. Fishback denies being antisemitic and says the spending shows Republican establishment figures are concerned about his campaign.
Fishback's eligibility to remain in the race is also headed to court. Jay Collins is challenging Fishback's candidacy, alleging Fishback lived and voted in Washington, D.C., and does not meet Florida's seven-year residency requirement for governors. A two-day hearing is scheduled to begin July 21 in Tallahassee. Fishback says he was born and raised in Florida, has lived in the state throughout his life and purchased a Washington condo only to visit his parents. Because ballots have already been printed, the judge said a ruling against Fishback would likely involve directing election officials not to count votes cast for him rather than removing his name from ballots. A Tyson Group survey released this week placed Byron Donalds at 48%, followed by Collins at 9%, Fishback at 8% and Paul Renner at 4%.