GOP governor candidate explodes at Black voter: 'You should be lynched!'
A viral clip posted to X on Thursday showed Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback blowing up at a Black voter and telling him he should be "lynched" for asking about the allegations of inappropriate behavior with teenagers.
The clip was posted by the account @JustinUSA, who describes himself as a "normal Republican."
"So, Mr. Fishback, what's with you smashing a 16 or 17 year old? Can you answer about what's going on with that?" asked the voter.
He appeared to be referencing Keniah Fort, a woman who alleged Fishback started up a relationship with him when he was 27 and she was 17 while she was employed at his nonprofit Incubate Debate. She said they ultimately lived together for a time before a breakup, and he allegedly engaged in cyberstalking against her. Fishback has denied all of these allegations.
"She said it in court, before you ran for office!" the voter said. Fishback then replied that the judge dismissed all allegations.
"Hey, hey, hey, why is he not answering the question, bro?" said the voter, who then asked him what intimate positions he and Fort had engaged in.
"I don't want you ever speaking about women in our state like that ever again," said Fishback.
"I mean, I don't want you ever smashing girls, teenage girls, in our state ever again," the voter shot back. "So promise me, never smash a minor again?"
"Why haven't I been arrested?" said Fishback. "Why haven't I been arrested? You should be lynched!"
Fishback, who trails President Donald Trump's endorsed candidate of Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) in all recent polls, is notorious for drawing massive crowds of younger Republicans to his rallies — and for his long history of inflammatory and racially-charged statements. He has said Donalds, who is Black, would "turn Florida into a Section 8 ghetto," and has also vowed to shoot anyone who poses a threat to his campaign workers.
Last month, his campaign was banned from every Waffle House in the state of Florida.