Fishback to remain on Florida ballot for governor's race, judge rules
FLORIDA - Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback will stay on the ballot for Florida's primary election, a judge ruled Monday.
The ruling came after Lt. Gov. Jay Collins filed a lawsuit questioning whether Fishback met the state's seven-year residency requirement to run.
In his 25-page order, Leon County Circuit Judge David Frank said Collins' lawyers failed to provide enough evidence to dispute Fishback's claim that he had Florida residency.
"Florida residency law places great weight on the subjective intent of the person declaring residency," Frank wrote in his order. "The law may be imprudent, or it may give too much leeway to a person seeking or maintaining residency, but it is the law."
Fishback responds to ruling
Fishback quickly issued a statement after the judge's ruling, calling Collins' lawsuit "disgraceful lawfare."
"This isn't just a victory for our campaign," Fishback said in a statement. "It's a victory for the Constitution and for every Floridian who believes elections should be decided by voters, not politicians trying to rig the system."
Collins' team calls the decision "disappointing"
In the lawsuit, Collins, who is also running for governor, alleged that Fishback voted in Washington, D.C. for the 2020 election and established residency there while living in property he owned.
"It's disappointing the court accepted Fishback's novel legal theory that "ignorance of the law" is now a defense when it comes to Florida residency," said Mark Meuser, counsel to Collins campaign. "His ignorance may be enough to keep him on the ballot, but who wants to vote for a candidate whose own sworn testimony is he committed mortgage fraud and doesn't understand how the law works when it comes to election integrity and paying state income taxes."
GOP candidates
Several Republican candidates are in the running to become the next governor of Florida.
According to the Florida Department of State, qualified candidates include Fishback, Collins, Byron Donalds, Jim Holcomb, Arthur Joseph McCaffrey, Daniel Nokovich, Paul Renner, Rachel Rodriguez, James Shaw, Caneste Succe and Bobby Williams.
The primary is set for Aug. 18.
The Source: This story was written with information gathered from court records and statements from Fishback and Collins' campaigns.