As things ramp up for the 2026 midterms, there is promised mayhem in the campaign season. This is something amplified in the ever-sane locale of Florida. This is the state where, in years past, the sure path to victory in places like Miami-Dade County was to be a candidate under federal investigation. We are the state that saw Ron DeSantis barely edge out the guy who, not long after the election, was busted in a drug-fueled sex party on South Beach.
So yeah, we are accustomed to vagaries on the ballot around here. That said, we are not particularly shocked to learn that a wingnut groyper is straining to gain traction in the bid for residency in the Tallahassee mansion. What IS amusing to watch is the media rushing down here to claim that this beta mook is something of a contender and is representing a faction of the GOP.
James Fishback tossed his name into the primary field, but he is about as serious a threat as a Yorkie yapping while penned out on the lanai. He is the kind of candidate who is desperate to draw attention during the weigh-in but has no intention of ever stepping into The Octagon. We tolerate and ignore these electoral goobers by rote, but Fishback has become someone drawing serious attention – from desperate journalists.
Vox is but the latest to get in on the manufactured hype attempt. In an interview about the Fishback “wave” (please), we see this:
He’s been able to get attention in a lot of different ways despite running sort of a shoestring campaign. There’s just this crazy online ecosystem that favors seeking attention, and Fishback certainly does that. He has these mobs that go to Waffle Houses for events.
Quaint. This is Florida. There are mobs at Waffle Houses for any reason and random times, but sure, this Waffle House Index will portend how the election will go…
Michele Goldberg, at the New York Times, claimed that at one event, it was noteworthy that Fishback spoke to a crowd at a Jacksonville country club. “Anyone concerned with the escalating extremism of the young right,” writes Goldberg, “should be paying attention to his campaign and the enthusiastic crowds it’s drawing.” She described him speaking to a group of 100. Many of those were not eligible to even vote. (“Several attendees told me they were in high school.”)
Vanity Fair gave lengthy coverage of this candidate.
“He’s gained traction in a constellation of online spaces where racial slurs flow freely, Fishback has ratcheted up his most incendiary stunts. In February, an arsonist tried to burn down his home, where his staff was working. Posting a video of himself hoisting an AR-15 above his head on the porch, he announced that if anyone attacked his staff or volunteers, instead of waiting for the police, “We will shoot you dead.”
The Miami Herald announces, “Fishback’s nonstop social media outrage machine has raised his profile enough to force the Republican establishment to contend with him — and with the white nationalists to whom he’s been appealing." Peter Schorsch, publisher of hack-site Florida Politics, says Fishback is “the copy of the copy of the copy of the copy of Florida Man.”
Then there was CNN’s extremism “expert,” Donie O’Sullivan, who latched onto one aspect of the guy’s prismatic platform. He focused on Fishback's proposal that the state levy a 50 percent tax on OnlyFans creators. This was the political guise Donie uses to interview a series of the tarts on that platform. (Hey, you have to respect the game, at times.)
In every poll on the Florida primary, you see two constants: Byron Donalds smokes the competition as he is trending with around 40 percent, and Fishback trails “No Decision Yet,” and is battling for third place with the margin of error. Meanwhile, Donalds leads every potntial Democrat contender in head-to-head polling.
Add to this that Fishback's campaign has been running on fumes, he is facing personal financial struggles with repossessions and legal fees from previous legal scrapes, and this “candidate” is about as viable as an EV with a dead battery in the middle of Montana. There is no pragmatic reason to give this disaster any column space, and yet we are inundated with coverage.
There is a pattern with almost every single profile of Fishback in the press. They all declare that he is a long shot with no chance of success, but then go on to deliver a full report on the man. As the Herald was one to explain, “Fishback’s campaign for Florida governor is a political dead end: he’s barely raised any money, has never run for office before, and is plagued by scandals.” Yet they still gave him more than 1,000 words of coverage.
It is a coordinated effort to platform him and have him regarded as a serious Republican, and then, by extension, smear the party as being accepting of a white supremacist. They try this at a time when the party is firmly backing a POC candidate who has been elected to Congress for multiple terms. But sure, they are racists, because of a failed nepo-baby with Nick Fuentes gravitas and nothing else going for him.
Bear in mind, the press are doing this at the same time they are supporting, or at least overlooking, the Democrat in Maine with the Nazi tattoo, and appearing on a supremacist’s podcast. This is what leads to all of the coverage of a dead-end candidate that Floridians have no interest in, come August. These outlets try to sell the concept that Fishback has a groundswell of support, when he is clearly very popular…with the media.
Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
Help us report the truth about the Trump administration’s decisive actions to keep Americans safe and bring peace to the world. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member