Far-right candidate for governor can stay on Florida's primary ballot, judge says

Romy Ellenbogen, Miami Herald on Jul 27, 2026

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James Fishback, a Republican candidate for Florida governor, will stay on the ballot despite questions about his state residency, a Tallahassee judge ruled Monday.

One of Fishback’s opponents, Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, sued, arguing that the former investor is ineligible to be Florida governor because of time he spent in Washington, D.C.

Florida’s constitution requires that the governor live in Florida for the seven-year period before their election. Judge David Frank ruled Fishback meets that bar.

“This Court will not be deciding the race between the Lieutenant Governor and Mr. Fishback,” Frank wrote. “That will be in the very sound hands of the voters.”

Collins’ lawsuit pointed to multiple documents, including a mortgage record where Fishback attested that Washington was his primary residence, as well as Fishback’s voter registration in the city. (Fishback had previously denied ever voting in Washington. But in court last week, he acknowledged having voted there in 2020.)

In a hearing last week, Fishback said he had signed the forms without reading through them and realizing the implications.

“I was just kind of signing through stuff,” Fishback testified.

He said the Washington apartment was rarely used, and said he only voted in the city because he was stuck there during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, he pointed to the time and effort he put into his Florida-based organization Incubate Debate as proof of his residency.

In his order, Frank said that Florida courts, when in doubt about whether a political candidate is qualified or not, should rule in favor of the candidate.

Courts should be cautious when removing the right of voters to choose a candidate, Frank said.

He said Collins did not do enough to prove that Fishback’s residency had changed.

Fishback said he intended to maintain his Florida residency, and Florida law puts a lot of weight on a person’s intent, Frank wrote.

“(Fishback) took the witness stand, was sworn in, and testified under oath that it was always his intention to keep Florida residency, and that he never intended to abandon it,” Frank wrote in his ruling.

While Fishback can remain on the ballot, both he and Collins’ odds of securing their spot on the Republican Party ticket are slim. Both men are polling below front-runner U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump.

In a statement, Fishback called the decision a “victory for the Constitution and for every Floridian who believes elections should be decided by voters, not politicians trying to rig the system.”

The primary is Aug. 18.