James Fishback, a hedge fund founder and former Doge architect, has entered the 2026 Florida governor’s race, positioning himself as a hardliner on foreign work visas. Known for his sharp criticism of the H-1B program, he argues that American companies overlook qualified U.S. workers in favor of hiring citizens of India and China, who make up the largest share of H-1B holders. Fishback is now making one of the most extreme promises in the race, saying he would remove all H-1B workers from Florida if elected.
“I’ll fire every H-1B working at a state agency and cancel state contracts with companies that employ H-1Bs instead of qualified Floridians,” Fishback wrote on X. “I will incentivize companies to hire Americans again.”
He also went after Rep. Byron Donalds, a Republican candidate backed by Donald Trump, accusing him of putting corporate priorities ahead of the interests of American workers. “H-1Byron won’t do jack but shill for his H-1B corporate donors,” Fishback added.
Fishback, who previously worked with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy during his time as a DOGE architect, has now unveiled his vision for the 2026 governor’s race. Announcing his bid to succeed Ron DeSantis as Florida’s next Republican governor, he outlined a bold agenda, saying he would end the “H-1B scam,” stop companies like Blackstone from purchasing homes in Florida, cancel large AI data centers, and even “abolish property taxes.”
One of the most polarizing points in his campaign is his warning about what he calls a “great replacement,” referring to legal immigration programs that he claims are costing Americans their jobs. In an interview with Meteor Magazine, he said, “You can’t make America great again with Chinese. You can’t make America great again with Indians. You can’t make America great again with Haitians. You have to make America great again with Americans.”
Fishback said that legal immigrants frequently take jobs that could go to American workers, and in some cases, locals end up training their replacements. He added that his stance is personal, noting that his father’s landscaping business struggled after Haitian migrants arrived on TPS following the 2010 earthquake.
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“Illegal immigration has been a primary concern for establishment Republicans but each one of many programs, such as OPT or other sorts of legal immigration programs, the prospect of 600,000 Chinese students coming to study at our universities, those by definition take spots and slots, jobs away from American citizens and my campaign is the one that stands up and says “America is for Americans” and we have to stop apologising for that,” he added.
Fishback said he would force companies working with the state to choose between maintaining Florida contracts or keeping their H-1B employees. He also promised that, if elected, he would remove any H-1B workers employed by state agencies on his first day in office.
Fishback, 30, is a Florida native and a political newcomer. He co-founded and serves as CEO of Azoria Partners, an investment firm he started in 2023, and leads Incubate Debate, a nonprofit that teaches debating skills to high school students. He first drew widespread attention in June 2025 when he left DOGE after Elon Musk criticized Donald Trump.