Florida judge to weigh whether James Fishback can remain on gubernatorial ballot
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A closely watched legal battle over Florida’s race for governor begins Tuesday morning in Tallahassee, where a Leon County judge will hear arguments over whether Republican candidate and financier James Fishback is constitutionally eligible to serve as governor.
The expedited hearing, expected to last two days, stems from a lawsuit filed by Lt. Gov. Jay Collins— one of Fishback’s opponents in the Aug. 18 Republican primary— challenging whether Fishback satisfies the Florida Constitution’s requirement that governors have resided in the state for the seven years preceding the election.
Because vote-by-mail ballots have already been sent to voters, the outcome carries immediate consequences. Collins is asking the court to rule Fishback ineligible before the election, arguing any votes cast for him should not be counted if he is found constitutionally barred from holding office.
The residency dispute
Collins’ lawsuit alleges Fishback remained a legal resident of Washington, D.C., during part of the seven-year qualifying period.
The complaint points to Fishback’s Washington voter registration, a home purchase in the District, homestead tax records and other public documents that Collins argues establish D.C.— not Florida— as Fishback’s legal domicile during the relevant period. Collins also contends Fishback falsely certified his eligibility when filing to run for governor.
Fishback has denied those allegations, maintaining Florida has long been his true domicile despite ties to Washington. His witness list includes family members, friends, business associates and other individuals expected to testify about where he intended to make his permanent home.
Collins, meanwhile, plans to present witnesses familiar with Fishback’s residency history, along with a forensic document examiner expected to testify about records and signatures introduced in the case.
A fight between trailing candidates
The case comes as both Collins and Fishback trail Republican frontrunner Byron Donalds in public polling.
A Cygnal survey released Monday found Donalds leading the GOP primary with 43% support among likely Republican voters. Fishback was second at 12%, Collins followed closely at 11%, while former House Speaker Paul Renner registered 2%. Nearly one-third of Republican voters — 31% — remained undecided, underscoring that the race behind Donalds remains fluid. The poll surveyed 500 likely Republican primary voters July 12-13 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.38 percentage points.
Even if Fishback were removed from contention, the poll suggests the Republican primary remains Donalds’ race to lose, though the legal challenge could reshape the contest for second place and affect how undecided voters break during the campaign’s final month.
What’s next?
The hearing begins at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Leon County Circuit Court and is expected to continue Wednesday if necessary.
At issue is not whether Fishback can campaign, but whether he met the constitutional qualifications to appear on the ballot in the first place. If the court sides with Collins, it could order that votes cast for Fishback not be counted despite ballots already being in voters’ hands.
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