A judge ruled on a lawsuit seeking to remove a Republican candidate for Florida Governor from the ballot.
Circuit Judge David Frank rejected Lt. Governor Jay Collins’ lawsuit against fourth-generation Floridian and Republican candidate James Fishback. The ruling means Fishback will remain on the August 18th Republican primary primary ballot for Florida Governor. Fishback attacked Republicans Collins and Byron Donalds after the ruling.
“It’s official. The disgraceful lawfare brought by Jay Collins and fueled by Byron Donalds has failed,” said James Fishback. “This isn’t just a victory for our campaign. It’s a victory for the Constitution and for every Floridian who believes elections should be decided by voters, not politicians trying to rig the system.”
Mark Meuser, Counsel to Florida Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins, called the ruling disappointing in a statement: “It’s disappointing the court accepted Fishback’s novel legal theory that ‘ignorance of the law’ is now a defense when it comes to Florida residency. His defense is he didn’t commit election fraud, he’s just ignorant of the law on who can register to vote and vote; he didn’t commit mortgage fraud, he’s just ignorant of the law on how mortgage and interest rates work; he didn’t commit fraud in obtaining a homestead exemption, he’s just ignorant of the law and what he was signing; he didn’t commit state and federal tax fraud, he’s just ignorant of the law on who has to pay DC income tax. His ignorance may be enough to keep him on the ballot, but who wants to vote for a candidate whose own sworn testimony is he committed mortgage fraud and doesn’t understand how the law works when it comes to election integrity and paying state income taxes. Mr. Fishback may have been able to convince the court to leave him on the ballot, but in doing so, he demonstrated he does not have the mental capacity to govern himself, let alone Florida.”
“Jay Collins and Byron Donalds tried to stop our campaign because they know they can’t beat us,” Fishback added.
Republican James Fishback said he predicts to pull off a historic upset in the Florida Governor’s race.
“I’m the only candidate who will stop data centers, block Flock, fight overdevelopment, lower insurance premiums, and make Florida a state we can afford again.”
The post Judge Rules on Lawsuit Seeking to Remove Republican for Florida Governor from Ballot appeared first on West Orlando News.
Source: West Orlando News
Published: 2026-07-31 13:26:00