James Fishback | |
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| Born | James Thomas Fishback January 1, 1995 Davie, Florida, U.S. |
| Education | Georgetown University (attended) |
| Occupations |
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| Political party | Republican |
| Website | Campaign website |
James Thomas Fishback (born January 1, 1995) is an American investor, hedge fund manager, and political candidate. He is the founder and CEO of Azoria Partners, an investment management firm. Fishback is a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2026 Florida gubernatorial election.
James Fishback was born on January 1, 1995, in Davie, Florida. [1] [2] His mother immigrated from Colombia, and his father owned a landscaping business before becoming a bus driver. Fishback attributes the failure of his father's business to the arrival of Haitian migrants under temporary protected status following the 2010 earthquake. [3] He attended public schools in Broward County, and participated in his high school's debate team. [4] [5] [6] Fishback enrolled at Georgetown University to study international economics, at age 21 pursued a career in finance without graduating. [7]
In 2019, Fishback founded Incubate Debate, a debate league that provides tournaments and training for middle and high school students. [8] [9] Fishback stated that he formed Incubate Debate due to frustration with ideological biases held by National Speech and Debate Association judges. [4] Incubate Debate was acquired by the Bill of Rights Institute in 2024, [10] but control of the organization later reverted to Fishback, who stated that the acquisition was "dissolved". [11]
Fishback joined the hedge fund Greenlight Capital in 2021. [12] Fishback was employed by Greenlight Capital as a research analyst until 2023, when he resigned ahead of a planned termination cited for low productivity. [13]
In 2023, Fishback founded Azoria Partners, an investment management firm focused on global macro strategies. [14] In June 2025, Azoria launched the Azoria 500 Meritocracy ETF, which tracks the S&P 500 but excludes companies with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. [6] [15] [16] The Meritocracy ETF, along with another ETF run by Fishback, was shut down in October by Azoria's independent trustees. The board stated that it made the decision after considering factors including "recent litigation involving a principal of" Azoria. Fishback alleged that the liquidations were motivated by anti-conservative bias. [17]
In February 2025, Fishback proposed the "DOGE Dividend," a plan to return 20% of savings from the federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) directly to taxpayers. [18]
In August 2025, Fishback contacted President Donald Trump and several of his advisors in an attempt to secure the seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors vacated by Adriana Kugler. Trump named Stephen Miran to the position in September. [19]
On November 24, 2025, Fishback announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2026 Florida gubernatorial election. [20] Fishback is challenging frontrunner Byron Donalds, a U.S. representative endorsed by Donald Trump. In his announcement video, Fishback criticized Donalds' record in Congress, and later attacked Donalds for his ties to "corporate interests," calling him a "slave to his donors". [12] [13] [21] [20]
Fishback has been described as a strong supporter of Florida governor Ron DeSantis, and has praised his "historical record" while in office. [22] [23] During his campaign, Fishback defended supporters of far-right political commentator Nick Fuentes, saying, "I've found the audience of young men who follow and watch Nick Fuentes to be actually incredibly informed and insightful and very patriotic." [24] Fishback has been described as a "groyper", [25] a label which he disputes. [5] [26]
On January 9, 2026, Fishback appeared on Tucker Carlson's podcast, where Carlson lent Fishback his support. [27] On January 12, he made a post labeling Donalds "By'rone" and accusing him of wanting to "turn Florida into a Section 8 ghetto". The remark attracted media coverage and was criticized as racist by other political candidates. [28] [29]
On January 30, 2026, after journalist Don Lemon was arrested for covering an anti-ICE protest inside a Saint Paul church, Fishback made statements which implied that Lemon could be publicly executed for his actions. [30]
Fishback has emphasized affordability in his gubernatorial campaign, highlighting rising living costs in Florida and prioritizing housing affordability. [31] He has proposed increasing competition and confronting insurers to address the issue. [32] Fishback supports eliminating property taxes on homestead properties. [33] [32] Fishback supports banning investment firms, such as BlackRock, from purchasing single-family homes. [5]
Fishback opposes the construction of AI datacenters in Florida, arguing they would increase energy costs. [34] Fishback said that his focus on affordability has been inspired by the campaign of Zohran Mamdani, the New York City Mayor, when he said, “I couldn’t disagree more with him on solutions, but I think he won this race in large part because he focused on affordability." [24] [5]
Fishback has campaigned to abolish the H-1B visa program and pledged to fire state government employees working under it. [35] [36] [21] Fishback is against immigration to the United States and has stated that he supports a "complete immigration moratorium". [37] Fishback supports a complete ban on abortion, including in cases of rape and incest. [38] Fishback supports reopening the Florida portion of Amtrak's Sunset Limited route, halted after Hurricane Katrina.
Fishback has voiced support for a sin tax on OnlyFans creators. [39] He expresses belief in the White genocide and Great Replacement conspiracy theories. [3] [27]
Under his America First platform, Fishback has pledged to refuse campaign donations from organizations affiliated with foreign countries, specifically naming the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). [40] He has criticized Israel for its handling of the Gaza war. [25]
Fishback expressed support for Operation Absolute Resolve, stating “I support President Trump's decision last night and am grateful to the special operators who successfully executed on his orders… I trust that President Trump understands that U.S. troops do not need to be deployed to Venezuela and that nation building should not be attempted.” [41]
In 2022, the Broward County School District cut ties with Fishback and his organization, Incubate Debate, following allegations that he had an inappropriate romantic relationship with a 17-year-old girl employed by Incubate Debate, Keinah Fort. Fishback was 27 at the time. The allegations led to the resignation of an Incubate Debate board member. Fishback threatened the parents who made the allegation with legal action. [42]
Fishback and Fort moved in together in spring 2023, after she turned 18, and were briefly engaged in 2024 before publicly breaking up. Fishback has denied any inappropriate contact prior to Fort's reaching the age of consent, a denial which Fort disputes. A judge rejected Fort's January 2025 request for a restraining order against Fishback for alleged harassment after the relationship's end. Fishback has denied wrongdoing and stated that he has never been arrested, charged with, or convicted of a crime. [43] [11] [44]
In October 2023, Fishback sued Greenlight Capital over a dispute regarding his job title. [45] In his lawsuit, he claimed to have held a senior macro role, specifically as "head of macro," his second promotion in two-and-a-half years after starting as a research analyst and trader. [23] Greenlight Capital denied these claims, stating that the position of "head of macro" never existed. [46] [13]
In June 2024, Greenlight Capital countersued Fishback, alleging misrepresentation of his role, breach of his employment agreement, and defamation. [13] In September 2025, Fishback admitted to sharing confidential Greenlight positions and strategies via his personal email and operating an undisclosed trading account, violating his employment agreement. As part of the settlement, he agreed to delete or return all Greenlight materials in his possession and pay the firm's legal expenses. [47] Fishback claimed to be unable to pay back Greenlight's legal expenses, and, as a result, had his Tesla Model Y repossessed in September 2025. [48]
In January 2026, a federal magistrate judge ordered Fishback to surrender Azoria stock and a group of luxury items he purchased through an undisclosed bank account to the US Marshals for sale to Greenlight. [49]
Fishback currently resides in Madison, Florida. [8] He is Catholic. [50]