ORLANDO, Fla. – After taking to social media to push a hefty OnlyFans tax and mandatory school uniforms, gubernatorial candidate James Fishback has now presented a new campaign strategy: the dating app Tinder.
On Monday, Fishback announced via X that he had joined Tinder to “meet young female voters where they are” and share his plan “to make it easier for them to get married, buy a home, and raise a family.”
The Republican candidate also shared a snapshot of his profile, which argues that the state should offer paid maternity leave to all mothers.
“Update… i ran out of likes,” he said within 30 minutes. “Could someone donate so i can get tinder plus?”
By Tuesday evening, though, Fishback claimed he had already received 1,000 matches in the app.
Aside from maternity leave, Fishback is also campaigning to stop H-1B visas for foreign workers, cancel A.I. data centers, and abolish property taxes, much in the same vein as current Gov. Ron DeSantis.
His foray into Tinder isn’t the first time that Fishback has grabbed headlines in recent weeks, though. Last month, he made the following proposals:
Major Sin Tax: A 50% tax on OnlyFans creators in the state, with funding going toward public education and crisis pregnancy centersMandatory School Uniforms: Required uniforms in all public schools, with families receiving $250 stipends per child to help purchase the necessary clothesMamdani Tax: A $50,000 tax levied on out-of-state buyers trying to purchase a single-family home in FloridaHomeless Sweep: Sending the National Guard to remove every single homeless person from Florida’s streets
[BELOW: Florida governor candidate Byron Donalds on property taxes]
On the Republican side, Fishback is running against candidates like frontrunner U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, the latter of whom announced his candidacy earlier this month.
However, recent poll data reveals that Fishback is struggling heavily with an issue that’s also plaguing much of his competition: identifiability.
On the Republican side, over 50% of respondents said they had a favorable impression of fellow candidate Byron Donalds, who was given the support of President Donald Trump early last year.
But out of all the candidates in the race so far, the data shows that only 3% of respondents said they would be willing to vote for Fishback.
[BELOW: David Jolly launches Democratic run for Florida governor]
The primary election is slated for Aug. 18.
Meanwhile, the general election is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3.
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