Lt. Gov. Jay Collins filed a legal challenge arguing that one of his Republican gubernatorial challengers shouldn’t qualify for the ballot.
Collins is contesting in the Second Judicial Circuit in Leon County that conservative activist James Fishback, one of 11 Republicans to qualify for the August primary, hasn’t lived in Florida for the required seven years, one of the qualifications necessary to run for governor outlined in the state constitution.
"James Fishback has spent months telling Florida Republicans his polls show him in first place and that he meets Florida's constitutional residency requirements,” Collins said in a release. “If he's telling the truth, then this lawsuit should be the easiest thing he's done all campaign.”
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Fishback has denied the charge.
According to the complaint, Fishback registered to vote in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 3, 2020, and received a homestead exemption for property located in D.C. for the 2026 tax year.
“The integrity of the electoral process would be greatly hindered if Mr. Fishback, as a constitutionally ineligible candidate, were allowed to appear on the ballot and receive votes for the office of Governor of Florida,” the lawsuit stated.
In a post on social media, Fishback responded to the complaint and said Collins was “illegally suing” him and posted a photo of his 2016 Florida driver’s license, where his address lists Davie as the city.
“This baseless lawsuit is nothing more than a desperate and illegal attempt to stop our momentum because they know we’re going to win on August 18,” Fishback wrote in his post on X.
With vote-by-mail ballots set to go out as soon as this weekend for overseas voters and next week for domestic voters, the lawsuit seeks to have the case quickly heard to remove Fishback or, “at a minimum, ensuring voters are notified that votes cast for Fishback will not count.
Collin’s complaint further states that Fishback’s candidate’s oath, which he signed when he became a gubernatorial candidate, says he resides in Madison County, which, if false, is “subject to penalties of perjury.”
“There is a clear threat of irreparable harm if injunctive relief is not granted, because a constitutionally ineligible candidate could be placed on the ballot and elected Governor, requiring an election to be overturned and a new election conducted at great expense to the State of Florida and its electorate, and could result in a constitutionally ineligible person assuming the Office of Governor,” the lawsuit stated.
Both Collins and Fishback are behind in terms of fundraising and polling to Congressman Byron Donalds, a Naples Republican who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump.
In a June 11 poll conducted by Associated Industries of Florida, Donalds drew 54%, while Fishback was at 8% and Collins was at 5%.
Fishback has been one of the more controversial candidates this cycle, accused of antisemitism and racist rhetoric in his speeches and appearances across the state.
At a press conference in Tallahassee last Thursday, Fishback defended calling Donalds, who is Black, a “slave” to his campaign contributors.
"I use that word intentionally," he said. "I will apologize for calling Byron Donalds a slave when he gives back the $81 million he has taken from AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee), hedge‑fund billionaires and special interests who are trying to pave over the state and turn us into a concrete jungle.”
"One, it's not racially charged, but two, if it were, who cares?” he added.