Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings (D) entered the race for Florida Governor this week, vowing to tackle affordability. The Republican primary could become even more crowded as James Fishback, the Azoria CEO, has shared an interest in throwing his hat in the race as an "America First" candidate.
"To be 'America First' you have to put Americans first," Fishback argued in a Youtube reel shared last month.
He once touted the idea of a senatorial run but has been “polling” his social media followers about a potential gubernatorial bid.
The CEO of the "free-thinking investment firm" Azoria has been commenting on social media and traveling the country to speak at universities, addressing topics like the "H1-B scam" and what it means to be “America First.”
“What does America First mean?” he questioned on X. “If the stock market’s booming and GDP hits $35 trillion but Americans who work hard and do everything right can’t get jobs in their own country because of the H1-B scam, that’s not America First.”
In recent weeks, he’s amped up his criticism of Rep. Byron Donalds (R), questioning his policies and suggesting that he would not be a worthy successor of Governor Ron DeSantis (R), who has an "incredible record" of "making it easier to raise a family, start a business, and retire with dignity."
“You personally introduced a pro-shoplifting bill that raised the felony theft cap,” he accused on social media. “You sided with Kamala Harris over Florida’s history standards.”
Fishback has also addressed housing concerns in the Sunshine State, targeting Blackstone.
During an appearance on Fox Business, Fishback took issue with the investment management company. "We did not sign up for a country where a company like Blackstone can take money from Chinese overseas investors, come into our communities, take homes that belong to Americans, outbid homes that belong to Americans," he said. "The social and economic repercussions of that are off the charts."
Despite Fishback's praise of Governor DeSantis, the governor's supporters are looking to Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins (R) as his successor. The lt. governor has long been rumored to be considering a gubernatorial run, but he has yet to make an announcement.
That, however, doesn't mean that some in Washington are not worried about a Fishback candidacy.
The Azoria CEO recently took to social media to share that Rep. Randy Fine (R) called him and "berated" him, warning that he shouldn't pursue a gubernatorial bid because "there would be real problems" for him in the future. Rep. Fine is also accused of suggesting that "it wouldn't be nice to Byron Donalds" if Fishback entered the race.
"If Byron is such a good candidate, he'll trounce me," Fishback noted. "But, the truth is, Republicans are the ones who got trounced this week. Republicans got trounced because of people like [Randy Fine] and Byron Donalds."
According to Fishback, Turning Point USA's UCF Chapter are open to hosting him and Rep. Donalds "for an in-person, long-form debate on the future of Florida in early 2026." Fishback has accepted the invitation, but Rep. Donalds has not commented on the invitation.
Former Speaker of the Florida House Paul Renner (R) is challenging for the post, and former Rep. David Jolly (D) is hoping to defeat Mayor Demings to win the Democratic nomination. State Senator Jason Pizzo (I), who left the Democratic Party in April and registered as an Independent, launched his gubernatorial bid in May
