Florida
Governor candidate says he’s banned from all Waffle Houses in Florida
Poll results: Who will be the next Florida governor?
A recent poll from the University of North Florida found Casey DeSantis, the First Lady of Florida, is an early favorite in next year’s governor race.
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A Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate has taken his grievances to social media, claiming that Waffle House has banned him from its locations across the state.
James Fishback, who is running to succeed fellow Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis as the next governor, said that the restaurant chain criminally trespassed on him and his team from all of its locations in Florida after he told his followers on the “Tucker Carlson Show” in January that he’d be touring every Waffle House across the state to speak to voters.
At the time of his announcement, Fishback, 31, said Waffle House allowed him to do just that.
However, on March 4, Waffle House “abruptly revoked our permission,” Fishback said, adding, “I am disappointed in Waffle House’s decision, especially since they had given us explicit permission to visit their restaurants just 3 weeks ago.”
Before Waffle House’s decision, Fishback had visited locations in Madison, St. Pete, Bonifay, Marianna and Jacksonville.
In an email to USA TODAY on March 11, Fishback confirmed that his permission was still revoked. USA TODAY emailed Waffle House on Wednesday, but has not received a response.
Fishback said he’d be fighting the decision by launching his own version of a Waffle House called the “Fishback Waffle Home,” a no-cost, pop-up restaurant coming to select cities in Florida to “keep meeting voters over hot coffee and warm waffles.”
“I want to thank the Waffle House staff who greeted me and our supporters, with warmth, kindness and awesome food,” Fishback wrote in the statement.
Florida gubernatorial election
Florida will elect its next governor on Nov. 3. DeSantis cannot run for the office again because the state’s constitution limits governors to serving two consecutive terms.
The primary will be held Aug. 18, in which residents will select their candidates for the general election.
There are 41 candidates in the election, including U.S. Congressman Byron Donalds, Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, Former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, Former U.S. Congressman David Jolly and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, according to a report by Maxon-Dixon Polling and Strategy and the Tallahassee Democrat, part of the USA TODAY Network.
According to the Tallahassee Democrat, Fishback is the second favorite for the Republican nomination. He’s currently behind Republican frontrunner U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds.
Fishback is a former investor and hedge fund manager who was born in Davie, about 28 miles from Miami.
He notably suggested to President Donald Trump and Elon Musk that they should issue “DOGE Dividends,” which would be paid to Americans using funds the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) saved. The agency has since been dissolved.
Contributing: C.A. Bridges, Tallahassee Democrat
Michelle Del Rey is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at mdelrey@usatoday.com