Gubernatorial candidate James Fishback stopped at FGCU on Feb. 20 to share his plan for Florida, answer questions and hear voter concerns. However, this was only announced the previous night, Feb. 19, on Instagram.

Upon arrival, Fishback was met in the lobby of Sugden Hall by the University Police Department (UPD), already present from the concurrent Byron Donalds Turning Point USA event being held in the same building. He was told he was not allowed to remain in the building, as he did not have permission to be there, but could remain outside as long as it did not prohibit other students from getting by. 

“I was at Seed to Table last night and a lot of FGCU students were there and they told me that congressman Donalds was going to be here tomorrow,” Fishback said.

A police officer and an FGCU administrator stayed present throughout the speech to ensure other students were not prevented from passing. 

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“The officers are good men, they’re protecting the school, and I appreciate the staff here at FGCU, but there’s a question of whether or not we have a First Amendment right or not,” Fishback said. “If congressman Donalds is allowed Turning Point space, why shouldn’t I?”  

Fishback went through his campaign platform for the crowd. Most of which were of the general public and not FGCU students. 

“What I like about Fishback is that he genuinely cares about Florida,” freshman Sophia Forderhase said. “He’s working overtime on this campaign with much less funding than a traditional campaign, which shows he cares.” 

The first issue he plans to tackle is affordability. 

“It means you have to be able to get a great-paying job right out of college when you graduate as an Eagle, whether that’s this year, next year, three years from now. It doesn’t matter,” Fishback said. “You should be able to get a great-paying job without having to compete with foreign labor.” 

He went on to explain how this carries on into buying a home. According to Axios, the average age to buy a home in Florida is 42. He wants to make homeownership more accessible to younger people. 

“Today, if you go try to buy a home in Lee County, Collier County, Charlotte County, Hendry, it doesn’t matter. You’re not going to be fighting against two or three families,” Fishback said. “You’re going to compete with hedge funds, private equity firms, Blackstone, Blackrock.” 

For the public, a big selling point seemed to be Fishback’s stance on Israel. 

“Florida lent $385 million to Israel. I will divest every single penny we send to Israel, and I will bring it back home to create a statewide down payment assistance program called Rise and Shine that gives young married Florida couples a $10,000 check so they can cover the down payment on their home,” Fishback said. 

Some, like congressman Donalds, question this plan. While others are in favor of Fishback supporting this effort, especially in the way he carries himself when discussing it.

“What initially drew me in was definitely Fishback’s stance on Israel. I’ve never seen a candidate for anything be so courageous and authentic. His bravery is a big selling point for me,” attendee Haley Smith said.

Another big pillar of Fishback’s campaign is his commitment to conserving the environment and maintaining Florida’s natural beauty. 

“I’d say for me, the biggest draw to Fishback is his plans for conservation in Florida and bringing back the citrus industry. I believe there needs to be Florida Fish and Wildlife reform and we need to stop developers from destroying wildlife areas and he seems to agree,” attendee Bryce Mitchell said. 

Though the event was last-minute, it became an opportunity for attendees in support of him to learn more about him and get involved in Florida politics in general, which is what Fishback, a young Floridian himself, wanted people to take away. 

“I think young Floridians want a governor that they can see and talk to and ask tough questions of and I think that’s what they got here today,” Fishback said. “If you knew Charlie [Kirk], you would know that he wanted to debate more than anything and he wouldn’t pick favorites. Sure, he would endorse people, but at the end of the day, he would’ve wanted rigorous open conversation, with no topic off limits.”