MIAMI (VINnews)-As Floridians prepare to choose their next governor in 2026, one candidate stands out not for leadership or vision, but for repeatedly crossing lines that no serious public servant should approach. James Fishback, the Republican long-shot challenging U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds and others, has built a campaign on provocation, division and rhetoric that Jews and decent people of all backgrounds find deeply

Fishback’s own words and actions tell the story. In a widely circulated video, he told a Black man confronting him: “You should be lynched.” He quickly pivoted to vows about “lynching” Epstein criminals, but the damage was done — a casual invocation of one of America’s ugliest racial terrors, directed at a Black voter.

His attacks on frontrunner Byron Donalds have veered into ugly territory: calling the Black congressman a “slave” to donors, mocking him as “By’rone,” warning he would turn Florida into a “Section 8 ghetto,” and posting gun videos with taunts like “Pull up… let’s see if you’re really Black.” This isn’t policy debate. It’s racialized trash talk that has no place in Florida politics.

The antisemitism is equally blatant. Fishback has embraced the slur “goyslop” — the far-right conspiracy term accusing Jews of pushing junk food to weaken non-Jews — and promised to ban it from school cafeterias, earning cheers from crowds. He has openly declared he would not visit Israel as governor because he refuses to “kiss a stupid wall” at the Western Wall. He blames “Zionists” and AIPAC for everything from housing prices to addiction, labeling them foreign agents holding Americans in “slavery.”

He has praised followers of Nick Fuentes — the antisemitic streamer with well-documented neo-Nazi ties — as “well-informed, respectful, and patriotic.” That’s not a gaffe. It’s a signal.

Fishback’s defenders may call this “edgy” or “anti-establishment.” But Florida’s Jewish community, and any voter who values basic decency, recognizes it for what it is: the normalization of hate under the guise of populism. Promising to divest Florida funds from Israel bonds while ignoring real economic challenges facing families is not bold leadership — it’s scapegoating.

Most Floridians, across races and backgrounds, want practical solutions on housing, education, jobs and public safety — not rage-bait, conspiracy theories or fringe spectacles. Byron Donalds, despite policy differences some may have, represents mainstream conservative governance. Jay Collins offers another experienced option. Fishback offers a toxic sideshow.

Florida has thrived under leaders who unite rather than divide. We cannot afford to let internet edgelord tactics and antisemitic dog whistles infiltrate the governor’s mansion. The Jewish community and all who reject hatred must make clear: James Fishback is unfit for office. Florida deserves better.