James Fishback, the Republican Party's most prominent right-populist insurgent, is running for Florida governor on a platform that blends economic nationalism with cultural grievance. Despite trailing his rival, Rep. Byron Donalds, by a wide margin in recent polls, Fishback insists the race is far from over. "There's a secret sauce," he says, declining to elaborate. "I'm not gonna spill the beans on how we're doing it." He predicts an "absolute landslide," even as he offers no data to back his claim that internal polls show the contest "neck-in-neck."
Fishback, who launched his campaign last November, has become a lightning rod for the far right, especially among younger voters. His targets include data centers, Flock cameras, the H-1B visa program, and foreign students from India and China flooding public universities. He has called Donalds, who is Black, a "slave" to AIPAC, and has waged a public feud with OnlyFans model Sophie Rain over pornography. He also adopts language associated with white nationalist streamer Nick Fuentes, such as decrying school cafeteria food as "goyslop."
His candidacy has been met with hostility from the state's Republican establishment, which has excluded him from key events. An AI-generated ad campaign depicts him alongside Candace Owens and Dan Bilzerian, both controversial figures, targeting older, less-informed voters. "It's becoming clearer that there isn't enough support for his brand of politics to actually win the primary," says Richard Hanania, a right-wing writer and critic of Fishback.
In an interview, Fishback downplayed the theatrics, emphasizing his outreach to both younger and older voters. "Younger voters will recognize the online focus of the campaign because that's who it's targeting. Older voters will recognize me because I'm at a diner in Lake City or Live Oak or in The Villages," he says. He notes that his campaign has held more events than Donalds's, a claim that is difficult to verify.
Fishback denies studying far-right subcultures, a statement that strains credulity given his familiarity with their rhetoric. Yet labeling him the "first Groyper politician," as The Bulwark did, may miss the point. His politics are more about gaining relevance than embracing a particular ideology. He courts the fanbase of streamers like Clavicular, and his platform of "unbridled capitalism and economic nationalism" aligns with the emerging Tucker Carlson wing of the party. Whether Fishback himself is antisemitic is unclear; his provocations seem instrumental, designed to generate attention rather than express deep conviction.
Fishback's moral absolutism, he says, stems from his Catholic faith. He cites Israel's strike on Gaza's Catholic church and Florida's "unconstitutional" antisemitism laws as turning points in his break with Republican orthodoxy on Israel. He points to his solidarity with Spirit Airlines employees after bankruptcy and his controversial statement outside an abortion clinic as evidence of his commitment to moral causes.
Despite his edgy rhetoric, Fishback insists he is careful with his words. "You don't judge someone by the words that they use. You judge them by what actions they take," he says. He even jokes about his relationship with Donalds, saying, "I've called him By'rone. I laugh at the things he says. I wish he would laugh at the things I say as opposed to freaking out." His past alliance with Bari Weiss, editor of The Free Press, and his later embrace of her enemies illustrate his willingness to shift allegiances.
Populism, as Fishback embodies it, divides society into the "pure people" and the "corrupt elite," with purity often defined in ethnic, religious, or moral terms. For Fishback, moral purity seems to take precedence over ethnic, even as his rhetoric flirts with the latter. His far-right appeals may be a detour from class consciousness, but they can still channel genuine grievances, however misdirected.
Underestimating Fishback would be a mistake. His populism is more substantive and adaptable than his social media presence suggests. As the primary approaches, his ability to translate online notoriety into votes remains untested, but his campaign has already reshaped the discourse in Florida's GOP race. For more on how populist movements are influencing state politics, see this analysis of socialist sentiment. And for a look at how the right is evolving, check this piece on GOP strategy.
