{"id":235165,"date":"2026-04-17T03:35:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T03:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/235165\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T03:35:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T03:35:10","slug":"usf-sees-florida-gubernatorial-candidate-james-fishback-rally-meet-and-greet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/235165\/","title":{"rendered":"USF sees Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback rally, meet and greet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>James Fishback, middle, greets students in USF\u2019s Marshall Student Center Ballroom during a Tuesday campaign rally. ORACLE PHOTO\/THOMAS MARRS<\/p>\n

More than 600 USF students and community members packed into the Marshall Student Center Ballroom Tuesday night during a campaign rally for Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fishback, a 31-year-old Republican, is running on a platform to make Florida more affordable by eliminating property taxes and restricting rural land development, according to his campaign website<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His 47-minute speech spanned issues of affordability, immigration and conservation, drawing applause for topics such as restricting H-1B visas<\/a> and divesting from Israel.<\/p>\n

Fishback\u2019s campaign event was organized by the College Republicans at USF<\/a>, Young Americans for Liberty<\/a> and Bulls For Fishback<\/a>, a non-USF organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A fourth-generation Floridian, Fishback announced<\/a> his campaign for the Governor\u2019s Mansion in November, marking his first run for public office.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll face off against frontrunner Byron Donalds, Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins and former Florida Speaker of the House Paul Renner during August\u2019s Republican primary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Those who attended the rally said they had mixed views on Fishback\u2019s platform and messaging and added that he made several racially charged remarks during his speech.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fishback, who has been touring several college campuses<\/a>, said he wants his campaign to reach out to voters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to meet voters where they are,\u201d Fishback said in an interview with the Oracle after the rally. \u201cEvery single person in our state needs to know that I\u2019m going to be a governor for them, and that also means young people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related: Florida Attorney General talks DEI, artificial intelligence regulations at USF<\/a><\/p>\n

The event started with an invite-only meet-and-greet outside the MSC Ballroom at 7 p.m., resulting in a line of several hundred students waiting to take pictures with Fishback.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The rally began just after 9 p.m., as students quickly filled rows of chairs, leaving a cluster of students standing at the back of the ballroom. It ended just before 10 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Caroline Pope, the president of USF\u2019s First Amendment Forum<\/a>, said she decided to attend Fishback\u2019s campaign rally to become more familiar with his platform despite not supporting him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to understand why there are people that support him, where they\u2019re coming from, what he\u2019s saying, what\u2019s kind of in the zeitgeist of politics now,\u201d said Pope, a senior political science major.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback holds up USF\u2019s signature hand sign during his Tuesday campaign rally. ORACLE PHOTO\/THOMAS MARRS<\/p>\n

Affordability was one of the first topics Fishback discussed in his speech, voicing his support for expanding paid maternity leave and for banning private equity firms from buying single-family homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Florida\u2019s cost-of-living growth has skyrocketed since the 2010s, growing from an average of 1.3% to 5.8% per year in the 2020s, according to an October Florida Tax Watch study<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m talking about an existential affordability that says you\u2019ll be able to get a great-paying job,\u201d Fishback said. \u201cYou\u2019ll be able to buy a home before the age of 30, you will be able to raise a family, if you so choose, on a single income.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fishback\u2019s push for affordability didn\u2019t end at housing. He also homed in on H-1B visas<\/a>, which he said he believes take jobs from Floridian workers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The H-1B program is designed to allow employers to hire \u201cnon-immigrant aliens\u201d to work in the U.S. in \u201cspecialty occupations,\u201d according to the U.S. Department of Labor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should be able to get a great-paying job without competing with cheap foreign labor under the H-1B program,\u201d Fishback said. \u201cWe must say no to the H-1B scam that seeks to replace qualified graduates from the USA.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The state of Florida has 2,253 H-1B recipients, and USF employs 24, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.<\/a><\/p>\n

Additionally, Fishback said USF was not the \u201cUniversity of South India,\u201d in reference to the 882 international students<\/a> from India, pushing back against admitting foreign students.<\/p>\n

He said international students \u201cmay mean well,\u201d but argued that many of them get their degree and return to their home country after taking spots from Floridians seeking a college education. <\/p>\n

Related: USF students balance finals, packing as dorm move-out nears<\/a><\/p>\n

Kendrick Path, a \u201ccollege-aged\u201d Tampa resident, said Fishback is the only gubernatorial candidate in the race standing up for Americans facing the affordability crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201c[He\u2019s] putting Americans first, and he\u2019s standing up, not for Israel, but for Americans and Floridians,\u201d Path said. \u201cHe wants to start that by taking bonds that are going to Israel away, putting that towards Florida homeowners.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fishback has condemned Israel throughout his campaign, calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a \u201cdepraved war criminal<\/a>\u201d at a rally in January.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He referred to Israel\u2019s War in Gaza as a \u201cgenocide,\u201d breaking with many Republicans\u2019 support<\/a> for Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fishback was also particularly critical of Donalds for receiving money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee<\/a>, a political action committee that frequently contributes to U.S. politicians.<\/p>\n

Donalds has received over $350,000 from AIPAC as a congressman, according to AIPAC Tracker<\/a>, a website that tracks AIPAC contributions to politicians.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback poses for a selfie with an attendee after his rally at USF. ORACLE PHOTO\/THOMAS MARRS<\/p>\n

Fishback also touched on environmental conservation during his speech, calling on attendees to \u201csay no\u201d to more development, including housing and artificial intelligence data centers on natural land.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Old Florida] was willing to say no to $100 million or $200 million there to be able to stand up for clean air and clean water,\u201d Fishback said. \u201cIt was about creating not something new, but reviving something old.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florida has grown by nearly two million residents from 2020 <\/a>to 2024<\/a>, with roughly 23 million residents as of 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.<\/p>\n

\u201cFlorida is full,\u201d Fishback said. \u201cWe can\u2019t invite the rest of the country to live here when we aren\u2019t taking care of our own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: USF, Florida universities to pause hiring H-1B faculty until 2027<\/a><\/p>\n

But while Path supported Fishback\u2019s policies, other attendees were concerned about his racial remarks toward one of his opponents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Blake Vick, a first-year biology master\u2019s student, said Fishback was pushing \u201cdangerous rhetoric\u201d during his speech \u2014 particularly toward gubernatorial frontrunner Donalds, who is a Black man.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a lot of blatantly racist comments he made towards Donalds,\u201d Vick said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fishback mispronounced Donalds\u2019 name \u2014 saying \u201cBy-rone\u201d \u2014 multiple times during the speech. He also called Donalds \u201cAIPAC Shakur,\u201d a reference to hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, Path said the comments didn\u2019t bother him and that his support remains with Fishback.<\/p>\n

\u201cFishback is doing things that other politicians won\u2019t do,\u201d Path said. \u201cI think controversy is good because he\u2019s trying to get eyes on his campaign.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Additional reporting by Thomas Marrs.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t