Across the country, election day is marked on calendars and eagerly awaited. But in Florida, we know that the real election takes place months earlier, during the republican primary. In a consistently red state, voting solely based on party loyalty is not an option. So, staying informed about each candidate’s policies and agenda is crucial. As a college student and proud Floridian, I believe James Fishback is the best choice for young voters because he focuses on the issues that directly affect us. With an increasingly competitive workforce, higher living costs, and a difficult housing market for young adults, Fishback’s emphasis on opportunity and affordability speaks to the challenges college students will face after graduation. For young adults who want a future where education leads to dependable opportunity, and where Florida stays a conservative state that treasures its beaches, farms, and citrus, Fishback is the candidate committed to delivering that.
As a fourth-generation Floridian and young businessman, James Fishback represents a new era of political leadership in the state. Although he is a rookie to the political playing field, he has quickly gained traction among Southern Gen Z voters. Much of this support stems from his no-B.S. communication style, unfiltered conservative values, and active social media presence, all of which resonate with young voters who feel disconnected from seemingly corrupt career politicians. If elected, Fishback would be Florida’s youngest governor in history, taking office at just 31 years old. Fishback has announced that if elected, he will restrict the H-1B program, abolish property taxes and tolls for residents, and preserve Florida’s culture and southern values– including a controversial proposal of a “Hoe Tax”.
In Fishback’s recent campaign launch, he promised that on his first day in office, he would fire every single H-1B worker in state agencies and cancel any state contracts with companies that employ H-1B workers. This will also include the hundreds of non-US citizens that are employed at public universities, including the University of Florida, the University of South Florida, Florida State University, and the 8 other Florida public universities. Many of which are abusing the H-1B program to save on cheap foreign labor. The University of Florida alone employs roughly 160 H-1B visa holders. Imagine if 160 students at your school were provided with opportunities to take on-campus jobs.
The U.S. Department of Labor clarifies that, “The intent of the H-1B provision is to help employers who cannot otherwise obtain needed business skills and abilities from the U.S. workforce by authorizing the temporary employment of qualified individuals who are not otherwise authorized to work in the United States.”
With 23.4 million residents, Florida already has an abundance of talent in every field. So why are we stealing job opportunities from qualified, hard-working American citizens? The majority of H-1B workers hold entry-level positions, the same roles that would normally be allocated to recent college grads. According to Forbes, only 30% of 2025 graduates were able to find jobs related to their degree. Without addressing this imbalance, young Americans will continue to find themselves competing for positions with underpaid foreign workers, and the result is a generation of college graduates facing underemployment and limited career prospects.
In a news conference at the University of South Florida on Oct. 29, 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis criticized the H-1B program, claiming, “It’s all become a total scam.” DeSantis then called out the number of university faculty positions held by H1-B workers, specifically an assistant swim coach imported from Spain. “Are you kidding me? We can’t produce an assistant swim coach in this country?”
With James Fishback in office, thousands of these entry-level positions in various fields would be handed back to the qualified, college-educated young Americans that they were intended for.
Among the most controversial elements of Fishback’s platform is his proposed “Sin Tax”, dubbed the “Hoe Tax” on social media. This would impose a 50% tax on earnings from OnlyFans creators. Framing the measure as both a moral and economic reform, Fishback argues that the policy would discourage participation in the sex industry while generating an estimated $200 million in revenue. He plans to redirect the funds toward increasing salaries for public school teachers and expanding mental health initiatives. Fishback has repeatedly voiced his concern for Florida’s prominence in the industry, as he recently restated on the PBD podcast, “Sad to say, we are the adult content creator capital of the world. Let’s have our young women aspire to greatness, as opposed to online prostitution.”
The concept of a Sin Tax is not a new practice. Excess “Sin Taxes” have been imposed on products like alcohol and tobacco since the late 17th century as a way to discourage consumption and generate public revenue. Similar taxes are still widely used today on a range of products and activities considered socially harmful. Critics question whether this particular sin tax is imposing on the First Amendment rights of these creators. However, Fishback recently explained in an interview with Patrick Bet-David, “Look, it’s going to be very difficult to actually outright ban the sort of pornographic content, as much as I’d like to do it, because you would run afoul of the First Amendment in the way the Supreme Court currently views it. But what we can do is we can use our tax system to incentivize the good behavior, and disincentivize the moral repugnancy, the absolute filth that Only Fans represents.”
So why do I, as a young woman, support this tax being put into action? Quite frankly, it is disheartening to know that there are thousands of young women my age who feel that sexually exploiting themselves for the pleasure of perverted old men is their only option. In a world where social media creators carefully manufacture a posh and enviable lifestyle, individuals whose lives are deeply disturbing behind the scenes can appear successful and fulfilled. This illusion can make unsavory paths to wealth seem like acceptable alternatives to higher education or traditional careers. Its alarming to imagine how many high school girls look to popular creators such as Florida resident Sophie Rain, who earns $90 million a year on OnlyFans with no higher education, and think to themselves…, “Why would I spend $200k and 4 years in university when I could sell my body online and finally be rich and loved like Sophie Rain?” The example that OnlyFans creators set for young girls is absolutely disgraceful. Young women should feel peace in knowing that their worth is grounded in their heart and mind, not in how many men approve of their naked body.
As the state confronts significant pressure from a rapidly growing population resulting in escalating home prices, James Fishback has proposed a plan to provide residents with relief by eliminating property taxes.
Home prices in Palm Beach County alone have increased 80-90% in the past five years since the Covid-19 pandemic, which drove over 800k new residents (the overwhelming majority being New Yorkers) to invade our beloved sunshine state. And with the recent NYC election of Democratic Socialist Mayor Zorhan Mamdani, we can only expect another significant wave of New Yorkers to our already overcrowded State. In an interview with Scripps News regarding this ‘Mamdani Migration,’ Talbot Sutter, the CEO of Sutter & Nugget real estate offices in Palm Beach, explained that he is “having to hire more members to the team to handle the Demand from New Yorkers wanting to move down.” The state is already far past its maximum capacity and will not survive if it continues to swell at this rate.
One of Fishback’s signature phrases captures his deep concern for this issue and its impact on the integrity of our state: “Florida is full. We are not a refugee camp for New Yorkers to flee from their problems. That’s your mess, clean it up.” In response to the recent NYC mayoral election, Fishback has proposed “The Mamdani Tax,” a $50,000 property transaction tax for out-of-state individuals purchasing single-family homes. This tax revenue, along with excess tax on tourists and heavily prioritising the deportation of the 1.4 million illegal aliens occupying Floridian housing and straining government resources, is how Fishback plans to abolish property taxes for all Florida residents. This would unquestionably be the largest tax cut for Floridians in over a hundred years. Such measures are especially necessary given that property taxes have risen by 76% in the last five years, yet many Floridians feel that these increases haven’t translated into meaningful improvements in the education system, roads, public parks, beaches, infrastructure, or public safety. Fishback has repeatedly claimed that this tax increase is a complete scam. As a result of his tax cut proposal, first-time homeownership will become infinitely more accessible to young adults.
A vote for Fishback is a vote for getting a job after graduation, a vote for entering the housing market, a vote for discouraging degeneracy within our own generation, and for keeping Florida thriving for its own residents, not turning it into someone else’s temporary escape.