For weeks and weeks, many Republicans have begged for a debate among Republicans running for Florida governor. On Thursday night, it finally happened.<\/p>\n
Sort of.<\/p>\n
Welcome to the Republican undercard debate for governor, otherwise known as The Future of Florida live debate on YouTube<\/a>. After no broadcast or cable network agreed to air it, conservative podcast host Patrick Bet-David <\/a>announced Monday he\u2019d host Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, investor James Fishback and former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner.<\/p>\n The GOP front-runner, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, skipped it.<\/p>\n Boosted by an early endorsement from President Donald Trump, Donalds is way ahead of the primary pack, outraising his Republican opponents by more than 10-1 and outpolling the next closest contender, Fishback, by 30 to 50 percentage points. <\/a><\/p>\n None of Thursday\u2019s participants met the GOP threshold last month to qualify for a debate <\/a>with Donalds at the party\u2019s annual summit.<\/a> Donalds dismissed requests by his GOP rivals to debate by saying there were no \u201cparticipation trophies<\/a>\u201d in politics and that he\u2019d only legitimize their otherwise flagging campaigns if he agreed.<\/p>\n His opponents didn\u2019t appreciate that characterization. Collins, a military veteran who lost his leg after getting wounded in Afghanistan, responded by pulling off his prosthetic leg during a campaign stop. \u201cThis is my participation trophy.\u201d<\/p>\n Thursday\u2019s debate promised more pre-holiday performative fireworks.<\/p>\n About 7,000 were streaming on YouTube when, about halfway through the two-hour debate, Collins and Fishback exchanged sharp words. Earlier this week, Collins sued Fishback and the state\u2019s Division of Elections, claiming the 31-year-old didn\u2019t qualify to run for governor<\/a> because he hadn\u2019t lived in Florida long enough under state law.<\/p>\n Expect continued hostilities through the Aug. 18 primary. And then, probably, the guy not on the stage, Donalds, will go on to face the Democratic nominee, who will likely be former U.S. Rep. David Jolly.<\/p>\n Expect a debate between those two.<\/p>\n But let\u2019s not get ahead of ourselves. Here are some of Thursday\u2019s highlights.<\/p>\n Fishback takes on Collins<\/p>\n Fishback and Collins talked about how the state should regulate AI data centers. Fishback, who says he will remove every data center in Florida, asked Collins if he\u2019d go that far.<\/p>\n Collins demurred, saying banning data centers should be left up to local governments.<\/p>\n \u201cHow do you think the people in the cities and counties are going to feel about the state government coming in and taking control?\u201d Collins said.<\/p>\n When Fishback interrupted, Collins yelled: \u201cLet me finish talking, man!\u201d<\/p>\n People \u201cwant to have a say in their local life,\u201d Collins told Fishback. \u201cBrother, you know this. You grew up in a small town, just like I did.\u201d<\/p>\n Fishback then steered the conversation to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere was it, where did I grow up?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think you grew up …\u201d Collins said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere did I grow up, Jay?\u201d Fishback said. \u201cWhere\u2019d I grow up? Here in Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou called Madison home, right?\u201d Collins said. (Fishback actually grew up in Davie.)<\/p>\n \u201cI grew up here in Florida, right?\u201d Fishback said.<\/p>\n Collins nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right, case closed. Drop the lawsuit.\u201d Fishback said.<\/p>\n Collins\u2019 lawsuit alleges that Fishback hasn\u2019t lived in Florida for seven consecutive years before he would take office. His campaign provided exhibits showing Fishback\u2019s Washington, D.C., condo and voting history. Whether or not someone grew up in Florida is moot because it\u2019s only the last seven years that state law recognizes as necessary to qualify, but Fishback was on a tear.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not going to discuss that,\u201d Collins said, referring to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t we discuss the fact that a Montana man hired a California lawyer to sue Gov. DeSantis\u2019 administration to remove a fourth-generation Floridian from our ballot,\u201d Fishback said. \u201cYou\u2019re trying to steal the election with Byron Donalds.\u201d<\/p>\n Collins persisted, suggesting Fishback was playing to his large digital audience.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality is this isn\u2019t about large clicks. It\u2019s about the games you play …\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou literally said just now that I\u2019m from Florida and now you\u2019re suing me because I\u2019m not from Florida,\u201d Fishback said. \u201cStop the lawsuit. Yes or no.\u201d<\/p>\n It went on like this for a bit. Finally, Renner, who had been silent during this exchange, was invited to speak by the moderator, Bet-David.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we were at a dining room table, you know where the kids\u2019 table is right now, with all that back and forth,\u201d Renner said.<\/p>\n Then Renner razzed Collins a bit for not saying that the state should be able to regulate data centers. He and Fishback support state intervention of AI data centers. Collins maintained that was a local decision.<\/p>\n Collins later implied that Renner and Fishback had been collaborating to make him look bad.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re not serious about running against Byron Donalds,\u201d Collins said, talking to the crowd. \u201cThey\u2019re worried about me. And guys, here\u2019s the problem. No one\u2019s buying your game.\u201d<\/p>\n Donalds bashing<\/p>\n The three did agree that Donalds shouldn\u2019t win the nomination. They repeated well-rehearsed talking points they\u2019ve made for months on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n \u201cYou go around the counties, people say the same exact thing,\u201d Collins said. \u201cThey don\u2019t want Byron. They love President Trump. They\u2019re not enamored with Byron Donalds. They meet him, they see him, they hear him, and they like him less, moment by moment by moment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEvery voter in this audience, everyone watching, everyone in the state deserves a debate, and it\u2019s disrespectful of Byron Donalds not to come on the stage and make his case as to why he is better able to lead the state for the next eight years,\u201d said Renner, who later volunteered that he probably won\u2019t campaign for Donalds if that\u2019s who wins the nomination.<\/p>\n Fishback disputed the notion that Donalds is the front-runner.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re referring to polls, the same polls have been wrong time and time again,\u201d Fishback said to Bet-David. \u201cThey were wrong about President Trump. The same exact pollsters that now say that Byron Donalds is ahead, even though you can\u2019t find somebody if your life depended on it who loves Byron Donald.\u201d<\/p>\n Neither Collins nor Renner criticized Fishback for his provocative attacks on Donalds that focused on his race.<\/p>\n On this topic, tonight, all three were unified.<\/p>\n Affordability conundrum<\/p>\n How do Republicans make a fuss about how expensive things are when they\u2019ve been running Florida government for the past 30 years?<\/p>\n Renner used the phrase \u201cwe\u2019ve a victim of our own success\u201d when referencing home prices. Homes are more expensive because of supply and demand. More people are moving to Florida from states like California and New York, he reasoned.<\/p>\n Insurance prices are and will come down, but Floridians need to wait, Renner explained. He passed tort reform as House Speaker in 2022, but he saidmany lawyers filed lawsuits before the law went into effect. So those cases are still working their way through the system and helping inflate insurance rates.<\/p>\n Collins also helped pass tort reform. He, too, urged patience.<\/p>\n \u201cGuys, what we did with tort made a huge difference. The No. 1 thing you can\u2019t do is fall back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Rates would skyrocket if lawmakers changed strategy, Collins said.<\/p>\n Fishback blamed fraudulent claims by migrants living in the country illegally for rising insurance costs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to throw the book at anyone and everyone, especially illegal aliens, who can make insurance fraud, prosecute them, invite the insurance companies back in,\u201d Fishback said. \u201cThey\u2019ll make a good profit, and we can bring down the premiums and save money for free.\u201d<\/p>\n A New York state of mind<\/p>\n Even though it\u2019s thousands of miles away, New York and its mayor, Zohran Mamdani, were referred to by Republicans as an existential threat.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a movement in our country that calls themselves Democratic Socialists, but let\u2019s call them what they really are,\u201c Fishback said. \u201dThey are communists. … We will never forget what communism really is. Our neighbors in Cuba know that, and we must fight the wickedness of communism, no matter what the Democrats call it today.\u201d<\/p>\n About 1,200 watched on livestream, according to YouTube. But many more will see reports about it on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cI showed up, answered every question, and will continue taking my message directly to voters,\u201d Collins said on X after the debate.<\/p>\n Fishback claimed on X, over a large DONATE button, \u201cWe won the debate, now I need you in this fight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe just finished the debate, and I made my case to the people of Florida: I\u2019m the only candidate ready to defeat Byron Donalds on Aug. 18,\u201d Renner said on X above a donation page link.<\/p>\n \u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n Tampa Bay Times Election Coverage<\/p>\n Congressional midterms: St. Petersburg and Wauchula are in the same congressional district. We drove it<\/a><\/p>\n Property tax amendment: DeSantis has claims about his tax amendment. 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