The race to succeed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis next year received a jolt this week.
Republican James Fishback told Politico that he intends to run for governor and will officially jump in Monday. An investment firm CEO who came up with the idea of giving Americans “DOGE dividends,” Fishback would face Rep. Byron Donalds, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, among other candidates.
What’s making Fishback’s potential long-shot bid so contentious is that he has signaled his allegiance to DeSantis, thereby pitting himself against Trump’s allies who back Donalds. He has also found himself in public spats with those in Trump’s circle, and there are questions about how much, if any, help he is getting from DeSantis’ team.
"Gov. Ron DeSantis has a historic record I would be honored to preserve and build upon," he told Florida Politics.
DeSantis has not yet endorsed anyone as his successor. He and Donalds have not been close since the congressman backed Trump’s presidential campaign over DeSantis’ in 2024, and there has long been an expectation in Florida political circles that the governor would find a GOP primary challenger to back against Donalds. Potential candidates include Jay Collins, his lieutenant governor, and his wife, Casey DeSantis, who has also long been rumored as a contender.
Fishback, a 30-year-old Florida native, received recognition in February as the brainchild behind the idea of sending $5,000 checks directly to people from savings achieved through the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. Though such checks were never sent, the idea had the public support of both Trump and the tech billionaire.
He also received some national attention after he confronted Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve governor, about the Trump administration’s mortgage fraud allegations against her. (Cook has denied the claims, and bank documents viewed by NBC News appear to contradict the allegations.)
Fishback, who has little experience in campaign politics, told NBC News on Tuesday that he was “inspired” by New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist who bucked party leadership with his underdog bid.
“I am inspired by Zohran’s message of affordability,” Fishback said. “I couldn’t disagree more with him on solutions, but I think he won this race in large part because he focused on affordability.”
In recent days, Fishback has been sparring directly with Trump administration staffers after saying publicly that they lobbied him not to run for Florida governor. The staffers have denied his claims.
“This guy is invoking my name to say he’s a tough guy standing up to D.C. or something. It’s a lie,” James Blair, a White House deputy chief of staff, posted on social media in response to Fishback on Tuesday. “I’ve spoken to him twice for a total of 2 minutes. Never ‘urged him not to run.’”
DeSantis has not yet publicly acknowledged Fishback’s potential run. Taryn Fenske, the governor’s top political aide, denied that there was any connection between DeSantis and his operation and Fishback when reached by NBC News on Tuesday.
Two minutes later, Fishback also called NBC News, unprompted, to similarly refute any connection. But he did not deny he was calling after hearing from DeSantis’ team. At that time, NBC News had not reached out to Fishback or anyone other than Fenske.
Fishback said he had “no political relationships” with DeSantis staffers but did not directly answer when asked if he had worked with Fenske.
Fenske later acknowledged she “flagged” NBC News’ inquiry to his “team.”
The interaction represents DeSantis’ team reaching out directly to a likely Republican gubernatorial campaign with whom it claims to have no relationship.
Fishback has faced pushback for some of his past comments on social media, some of which have been critical of Israel. A group of Jewish Republican donors is preparing to raise money to push back against Fishback if he formally enters the race, a person directly familiar with the conversations told NBC News.
That group includes billionaire GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson, who is among the most influential donors in the party. Adelson has supported DeSantis, who ran for governor and president in 2024 touting himself the “most pro-Israel governor in America.”
“Political advisers of Dr. Miriam Adelson have been notified about Fishback’s candidacy and are monitoring the situation,” said the person familiar with the conversations, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.
This dynamic, along with the fact that Fishback has a tough shot at winning the nomination, makes it unlikely that DeSantis publicly backs him. Still, it will be notable to see how, and whether, DeSantis decides to weigh in when Fishback formally joins the race.
When former Republican Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, a staunch DeSantis ally, announced he was running for governor last month, DeSantis immediately said it was an “ill-advised decision,” making clear he was still looking for someone else to support.
Fenske did not answer repeated questions about how DeSantis felt about Fishback jumping in.
Fishback has also had a change of heart on Donalds. Before starting to attack him on social media in recent weeks, he had heaped praise on the Republican congressman.
“Congressman, thank you for your leadership, thank you for your fight,” Fishback said during a Republican gathering in August in Madison County, Florida, where he is originally from. “Thank you for fighting for President Trump.”
Since then, however, Fishback has started calling Donalds “DEI Donalds,” referring to diversity, equity and inclusion policies that conservatives have fought. He has also said that Donalds, who is Black, has been “auctioned off to his donors.” And he has repeatedly hit him on the issue of H1-B visas, a program that allows employers to legally hire temporary foreign workers in “specialty occupations.”
“WE WILL NOT BE REPLACED, H-1BYRON,” Fishback posted on X on Monday afternoon, accompanied by an illustration of a Black man resembling Donalds and the caption, “I want you to be replaced by an H-1B.”
Donalds this week told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson that the H-1B visa program is a “scam,” and that there needs to be broader immigration reforms and changes to the nation’s many visa programs.
“They all need a complete overhaul,” he said.
Donalds on Thursday did pick up the endorsement of Musk, who has said he supported the H-1B visa program in the past.
Conservatives, including DeSantis, have called for reforms to the H-1B visa program. Last month, DeSantis asked the Florida Board of Governors, a body he appoints that oversees the Florida state university system, to end the practice of hiring through the program.
Fishback has also deleted past social media posts he wrote about Hope Florida, a charity spearheaded by Casey DeSantis that is the subject of a grand jury investigation over its spending practices.
“I deleted those tweets because I didn’t know the full context of the Hope Florida situation,” he said Monday night. “I’ve since learned that the First Lady and AG were slandered by a politically motivated actor.”
“They did nothing wrong,” Fishback added.
