James Fishback entered the Florida governor's race last November as a self-described anti-establishment candidate with no prior political office to his name. Twelve days before the Aug. 18 Republican primary, he called a press conference and accused Rep. Byron Donalds of paying for sex on two separate occasions in 2024 at the MGM National Harbor Hotel and Casino outside Washington, D.C. and of being under federal investigation for sex trafficking. The Department of Justice denied any such investigation exists.
Donalds' campaign called the allegations a "baseless and defamatory sideshow." Fishback said the Justice Department refused to comment on whether Donalds was under investigation and insisted Donalds should "speak directly to the voters" about the claims — an argument that placed the burden of disproving an unsubstantiated charge on its target.
Fishback is 31 years old, grew up in a working-class family in South Florida and is a fourth-generation Florida resident. His father drove a bus. His mother immigrated from Colombia. He lives in Florida with his wife, and the couple is expecting their first child. None of that biography translates into government experience.
His professional record is in finance. Fishback worked as a research analyst at Greenlight Capital, the hedge fund management firm run by David Einhorn, from 2021 until his resignation in 2023. He then founded his own investment firm, Azoria Partners. Before that, in 2019, he founded Incubate Debate, a nonprofit high school debate league, after volunteering as a debate coach in Miami-Dade County.
Fishback gained wider visibility by associating himself with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency after Trump's return to the White House. He claimed to be an adviser to the initiative. Musk's camp disputed that characterization. Fishback then lobbied the Trump administration for a short-term appointment to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. That effort also failed.
He is running against three opponents who carry records he lacks. Rep. Byron Donalds represents Florida in Congress. Lt. Gov. Jay Collins holds statewide office. Former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner ran the state legislature. All three are competing to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is term-limited.
The sex trafficking allegation against Donalds was not the first attack Fishback launched without supporting evidence. After Lt. Gov. Collins filed a lawsuit questioning Fishback's eligibility to appear on the primary ballot — a suit Fishback survived — Fishback publicly claimed Donalds had backed the legal challenge. He provided no evidence for that claim. When pressed, Fishback called the suit "clearly an orchestration" of Donalds.
Fishback also confronted Donalds during a radio call-in segment, identifying himself to the call screener as "Thomas" rather than by his real name. During that call, he alleged that Optima Classical Academy — a school founded by Donalds' wife, Erika Donalds — left parents, students and investors scrambling. The accusation added another front to a campaign that Donalds has characterized as built on character assassination rather than policy.
Donalds said Fishback "plays to the algorithm," pointing to a strategy built on online attention and personal attacks rather than legislative or executive accomplishment. Fishback's campaign did gain traction on social media after he entered the race in November, but he remains a political newcomer in a field where his opponents hold named offices and voting records.
The primary is Aug. 18. The winner faces a general election contest to lead the country's third-most-populous state. Florida has 22 million residents and a governor's office that controls a budget exceeding $116 billion. Fishback has not held a single elected position at any level of government ahead of seeking that office.
