The 2026 election cycle has been more fiery than most previous midterm cycles. Incumbent representatives and senators have successfully been ousted by primary voters: Cassidy (LA), Cornyn (TX), Massie (KY), Crenshaw (TX), and Gonzalez (TX), among others. Other incumbents like McConnell opted to finally retire, while Tuberville and Blackburn are seeking governor positions. Even nasty filth like Nancy Mace will be out of office. There will be a sizable turnover of GOP politicians next year.
Despite this macro trend, there are other fiery challengers that while forgettable in the long run are running embarrassingly online campaigns. Casey Putsch crashed out hard in Ohio running against the anchor baby scammer Vivek Ramaswamy, only receiving 17.6% of the vote. A generic name on the ballot could have done better against a token candidate bound to underperform in the general. Had he ran a competent campaign, he would have done much better. Then there is Dan Bilzerian running an e-celebrity campaign against Randy Fine in Florida.
But perhaps the longest-lasting internet campaign is that of James Fishback. Fishback arose on the scene as a flashy alternative to Byron Donalds, who is a classic example of Republican tokenism. With a criminal history of marijuana and check fraud, Donalds sells himself as a turnaround story; he ironically worked in finance before going Republican during the Tea Party cycle. His messy personal life and his history of anti-White statements, in which he opposed DeSantis’s removal of BLM history from Florida curriculum, make him an underwhelming candidate on paper. At 31, Fishback has a career wrought with questionable behavior in the finance industry. His multiple anti-woke ETFs ultimately failed to launch, and he failed to maneuver his way into a Federal Reserve board seat in 2025.
For his governor campaign, he presented himself very professionally at first, even being informally advised by Christina Punshaw, press secretary for DeSantis. Fishback’s political campaign has increasingly consisted of internet edgelord behavior while he is estimated to get around 10% in the polls. He got on Tucker Carlson back in January, which perhaps precedes the shift towards an online campaign. He has campaigned against Zionism but also advocated positions antithetical to the GOP, like paying teachers more money. He also got married to Valeria Quimby-Moro during the course of the campaign, subsequently announcing her pregnancy shortly after—a strange marriage situation to say the least.
With early voting currently underway, James Fishback pulled out an “August Surprise” against Donalds when he staged a “press conference” to announce:
Byron Donalds and Cory Mills are under investigation for federal sex trafficking. The dates that prosecutors are focused on are May 17, 2024 and November 19, 2024 at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, which my campaign has confirmed with a whistleblower, text messages from Cory Mills, and photographs of the two men there.
The supporting evidence is a photo of a black guy who looks like Byron Donalds at a casino and the email that coincided with the photos. The only supporting evidence is the association between gambling and prostitution, where hookers have been known to operate out of the MGM National Harbor casino.
The Department of Justice Rapid Response Account posted the following:
Falsely accusing someone of being under investigation is a dangerous form of weaponization. This claim is not true. Congressman Byron Donalds is not under investigation.
While the FBI does not generally comment on whether someone is or is not under investigation, this remains an official statement from the Department of Justice’s official accounts, so it should be taken as accurate.
This further presents a problem for Joel Webbon, who is having Fishback speak at his Christ is King: America After Trump conference this November. The speaker lineup is already a downgrade from the 2025 conference, but having Fishback, who by then will be politically irrelevant, front and center amidst his current fraudulent behavior entangles others by association. Quite frankly, it sets up for another embarrassing situation for Webbon, just as his attendance at the America First United conference was another foreseeable mistake. Given Fishback’s trajectory for the entirety of 2026, this was another easily avoidable error.
Therein lies the rather embarrassing conundrum of many on the right who have supported Fishback despite his continuous self-debasement. Fishback has championed himself as a Christian and recited the mantra “Christ is King” but is clearly slandering his opponent for no other reason than attention. In a cycle where primary challengers have been abnormally successful, these are not serious alternatives. Behavior like this is why Fishback and others have been called the “retard right.”
