Florida Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins defended his legislative record, clarified his past voting timeline, and leveled sharp criticism at Republican rival Byron Donalds during a virtual press conference following the latest gubernatorial debate.
Collins, speaking to reporters, addressed a moment in the debate when candidates were questioned about whether they had voted for Governor Ron DeSantis in the 2018 primary. Collins explained that his transition out of a 23-year military career prevented him from voting at that time.
“I was in the tail end of a 23-year Army career,” Collins said. “I was going through an MEB [Medical Evaluation Board] and an MRB [Medical Retention Board]. We were moving here, setting up our life.” He emphasized his subsequent alignment with the governor, stating, “I’ve supported him as a ride-or-die since day one once we got into the Florida political scene.” Collins added that he is “the only person on the stage who’s hand-picked, not once, but twice by Governor Ron DeSantis.”
A central policy focus of the briefing was the expansion of massive technology infrastructure. Collins drew a distinction between standard technology facilities and massive data hubs, expressing severe reservations about the latter’s strain on local resources.
“I have incredible concern over hyperscaler data centers in our communities,” Collins said. “When you have a hyperscaler that can take the same amount of power and water as a city of 50,000 to 100,000 people, it should be concerning.” He advocated for local transparency and state-level enforcement, asserting that “if they lie, cheat, steal, they harm our local communities or do anything to dupe locals, well, then the state should come and we should hold them accountable.”
Collins directed his sharpest political commentary toward U.S. Representative Byron Donalds, who did not participate in the debate. Despite recent endorsements for Donalds from Attorney General Ashley Moody and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, Collins argued that skipping debates disregards the electorate.
When asked for his message to supporters of Donalds, Collins blasted the congressman.
“Don’t you find it a little bit curious that he (Donalds) just thinks this is done?” Collins asked. “To see the disregard for the people’s voice and a disregard for showing up and earning the vote—I’m calling on those people to do the right thing. Push their candidates to debate, and if he won’t debate, find somebody who actually values your voice.”
When asked about recent statewide endorsements shifting toward Donalds, Collins compared the current race to DeSantis’s initial 2018 run. “Did Ron DeSantis have all the endorsements? Did he have all the support, all the financial support? He did not,” Collins said. “Floridians want to vote for who they believe in.”
The press conference also touched on a lawsuit challenging James Fishback’s eligibility based on Florida’s constitutional residency guidelines. Collins argued that current state law places an undue burden on rival campaigns to police ballot qualifications.
“The way the law currently is, if Kim Jong-un, a member of the Castro regime, [or] Taylor Swift wanted to get on the ballot and run for governor, they would get the presumption of honesty when they showed up,” Collins said.
Collins confirmed that the explicit goal of the current legal filing is the removal of the ‘non-compliant’ candidate from the ballot, noting, “If you read the lawsuit, it clearly says that we do not believe that he (Fishback) is qualified by Florida constitutional requirements.”
Addressing the dispute over out-of-state property, Fishback explained on social media that the Washington apartment in question was purchased solely as a personal place to visit his parents.
“That’s where my parents live today, so I bought a place across the street, so when I visit, I don’t have to sleep on the couch, I have a place of my own,” Fishback explained. “So, I opened that up to friends and family, and my sister, right now, is staying there.”
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