A controversial Republican candidate for governor of Florida was widely condemned after telling a Black man, “you should be lynched.”
The incident, which was shared on social media, occurred after the Black voter asked James Fishback about allegations he began a sexual relationship with a woman when she was 17 years old.
After the voter described several sexual positions, Fishback replied: “Listen, I don’t want you ever speaking about women in our state like that ever again.”
The Black man responded, “I mean, I don’t ever want you smashing girls, teenage girls, in our state ever again. So promise me, never smash a minor again?”
Fishback, 31, who has denied his relationship with Keniah Ford began before she was 18, argued that not being arrested backs up his claims that he did not commit any wrongdoing.
“You should be lynched. You should be lynched talking about me like that,” the GOP gubernatorial candidate said.
Fishback, an investor, is challenging Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who has the endorsement of President Donald Trump, in the Florida GOP gubernatorial primary.
Fishback is targeting legal and illegal immigration, and apparently defending Florida’s slaveholding past, echoing other Republican leaders who have seized on white grievance to animate the GOP’s most passionate voters, who are overwhelmingly white, the Associated Press reported. If elected, Donalds would be the state’s first Black governor.
During a November news conference, Fishback referred to Donalds as “a slave’ and ”a slave to his donors,” First Coast News reported.
Fishback’s remark to the Black voter was slammed by both sides of the political aisle.
“This guy James Fishback is such a loser,” tweeted conservative influencer Shawn Farash.
“Question – would Fishback have said this if the man asking that question was white? Is this a productive way for our leaders to speak to constituents they want to represent?” added Jay Scott.
“This filth has no place in civilized society,” said journalist Sloan Rachmuth.
“Insane new James Fishback video,” added The Bulwark’s Will Sommer. “Really grim that this guy is getting such big crowds of young people.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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