Lt. Gov. Jay Collins is challenging James Fishback's candidacy for governor, 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.
Fishback is also facing a $400,000 ad campaign from The Front Line, a Republican group aligned with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, targeting 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. A Tyson Group survey released this week placed Fishback at 8% in the Republican primary, behind frontrunner Byron Donalds at 48% and Collins at 9%. Paul Renner received 4%, with about 26% of respondents remaining undecided.