Florida Governor Debate 2026 | PBD Podcast

I don't think I've ever said this before. All right, so welcome to the first official Florida gubernatorial debate. Make some noise, everybody. We got a crowd in the house. Good-looking crowd here. We're going to have a good time together. I want to properly introduce each individual that I want to bring up, and we'll get right into it. First candidate that we're bringing up is the former Florida House Speaker, Paul Renner. He was the Speaker of Florida House from 2022 to 2024. Champion Florida. Universal school choice expansion. U.S. Navy Surface Warfare officer during the Gulf War. Career prosecutor or legislative strategist. Widely viewed as one of the principal architects of much of Governor DeSantis' legislative agenda while serving as a speaker. Please make some noise for Speaker Paul Renner. All right. Next, we have. Florida Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins. 23 years. Let me properly introduce him, if you may. 23 years as U.S. Army Green Beret Special Forces deployed to combat multiple times. Purple Heart recipients, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Soldier Medal. After losing a leg due to combat injuries, he returned to active duty for another five years. Elected to Florida State Senate in 2022. Appointed Lieutenant Governor by Ron DeSantis. In 2025, please make some noise for Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins. Thank you. And last but not least, we have businessman and investor James Fishback, founder of Azoria Partners, an outsider in the race who has made a name for himself in record time, became one of the highest profile first-time candidates in recent memory, a social media sensation with a following among younger conservative voters. And last but not least, we have businessman and investor James Fishback, founder of Azoria Partners, a social media sensation with a following among younger conservative voters. And last but not least, we have businessman and investor James Fishback, founder of Azoria Partners, an outsider in recent memory, a social media sensation with a following among younger conservative voters. Look, as I've traveled the world, around the state, I have been from big city to small town, and the number one thing that comes to our ears is affordability. It's about the economy. Number two is about safety and security. And the last thing is education, because a simple fact is this, what we teach our children today is the reality of our state and our nation tomorrow. We can't afford to fail on those three things. Those were your three? Okay, beautiful. Paul? Well, I would also echo affordability. If I go and speak to a pastor's breakfast, they want to talk about affordability, homeschool moms, affordability, everywhere you go. And we have become a victim of our own success with prices going up, with everybody moving into the state. That's number one. I would also say we have to fight public corruption and enforce public safety. We see what's happening in blue states across the country, and it's unacceptable. We have been an oasis of safety when it comes to our public safety here in the state of Florida, and finally is preserving our constitutional rights and freedom. We are the free state of Florida. We need to not only protect it, but also strengthen it. Okay, James, how about yourself? The three issues for me that are most important are this. Number one, Ron DeSantis gave us a 50-year low in crime, and it wasn't by accident. Crime's down, prosecutions are up, because Ron DeSantis did the radical thing that CNN and MSDNC won't talk about, is we're going to back the blue every step of the way. That's the first thing. Number two, we have a real problem with these so-called, experimental data centers. I'm sorry, we are not going to build a 2 million square foot facility in our neighborhood that Mark Zuckerberg is going to use to become a trillionaire. The same exact experimental data center that will drive up your electric bills, jeopardize our water supply, and is so loud and noisy that you will hear it 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. I want to be clear. I am not going to regulate data centers. I am not going to reform data centers. As governor, I will reject and remove every experimental data center in our state. Okay, and we're going to address that as well with data. I got, I got, that was just two. Go for it. Here's the last one. The last one, you don't need a history book. You don't need a time machine. The last one is happening right now. There is a movement in our country that calls themselves democratic socialists. But let's call them what they really are. They are communists. The mayor of New York is telling people who are sweating during the worst heat wave, telling kids and our senior citizens that they dare not touch the thermostat. We will never forget what communism really is. Our neighbors in Cuba know that, and we must fight the wickedness of communism no matter what the Democrats call it today. And for the audience, if you're watching, the temperature here are 68 degrees. That's where we have the AC just to make sure we're going to be fine. So since affordability was number one for all of you, let's get right into affordability. And we're going to have some fun here as well. We're going to have some items that are going to come up. We're going to play a game to see who knows more about affordability than the other. It'll be a little bit entertaining, and we'll address some important issues. But let's start off with affordability. And James, I'll come to you first here. Let's talk about homeowners insurance, which is a big issue. Between 2020 and 2024, 12 insurance companies cut back coverage in Florida or left completely, including State Farm, Allstate, Farmers, and Progressive. Now Florida has the highest property insurance rates in America. As governor, what specific immediate steps will you take to lower insurance rates and make housing affordable again? Patrick, it's a great question. And it's one that we have to fight with a very simple idea called capitalism. If you're the only dairy queen in the middle of the desert, you can charge whatever you want for soft serve. What we have to do, is bring in a Baskin Robbins, bring in a Carvel, bring in a Cold Stone. You might even bring in a McDonald's, Jay, if the ice cream machine were working that day. What does that competition do? It brings down prices. The fact that 12 insurance companies have cut or left the state entirely is exactly why insurance rates have gone up. As a business guy, I'm going to call those CEOs myself and ask them, what is it going to take for you to come back to our state? How can we reform these laws? But here's the thing. Insurance doesn't just come back to our state. It comes back to our state. It comes down to price. It also comes down to coverage. For the Florida families who went through Michael in 2018, Irma in 2017, or Wilma in 2005, know this. When a hurricane hits, you will not have to hunt down and recruit a lawyer to get paid from your insurance company. I will stand up to insurance greed in our state. Paul, how about yourself? Yeah. Well, I have some unique receipts on this issue because as soon as I became speaker, we went into special session to take two special interests, the billboard lawyers who are driving up our rates as a litigation hellhole in Florida, as well as the insurers. And we said, let's focus on the consumers. And by doing that, we saw auto rates go up 30% before I was speaker. And since then, auto rates are going down in one state in America. That's this state. Now, homeowners insurance is a little bit more stubborn, but we have seen dozens of new insurers come into the market when before those reforms, they were going out of business, dropping coverage. But here's what we can do. We can make sure to eliminate and suspend the tax on homeowners premiums. We can end the rapid cash, what's called the rapid cash buildup, which was done at a time when our catastrophic fund was broke, suspend that for a while, and also allow that cat fund to come down and handle smaller storms than what they're handling right now. All three of those and some other reforms we can make will lower tax or lower the premiums by up to 20%. And we'll do that in the first 100 days as part of our contract with Florida. Fantastic. Make some noise. Thank you, Paul. Jay, how about yourself? All right. Thanks, Patrick. Look, you've heard similar answers here, and it's very simple. Under Governor Ron DeSantis, we have fixed this problem and we continue to work towards it. Look, at one point, we were down to one insurance company. It was very, very tough. Many of us worked day and night trying to figure this out, move it forward, and bring more insurance companies in here. Yes, we spoke to CEOs. Yes, we spoke to economists. And yes, we pushed everybody. The number one thing that drove that was rolling back tort reform. Guys, what we did with tort made a huge difference. The number one thing you can't do is fall back. We cannot cede ground to the trial bar. It can never happen on that. Not now, not ever. The rates will skyrocket. We have to make sure that we look at things like permitting and impact fees. Right now, those are things that we can actually solve on the ground. The cost of permitting is built back into the cost. It goes back to the person. It's not just the fee. It's the carrying cost. And it's magnified because it drives up our insurance. But it's incredibly dangerous when coupled with that FEMA 50% rule where homes are being lost and homes are being torn down. And the last thing is this. We understand that we have hurricanes. We understand that there are problems in this state. And that's why we have been leading the nation on property tax reform. And in our administration, we have done that. The language in front of us will bring back property tax relief to our people. We have to make sure we put money in people's pockets. We continue to fight to drive those costs down. And yes, we're going to hold insurance companies liable. We're going to hold attorneys responsible. And we're going to make sure we prioritize the welfare of our people over everybody else. Jay, question. Jay, question for you in regards to, you know, what we can learn from California. Because a lot of insurance companies also left the state of California. Florida and California, this is one thing we have in common, both states. What do you do? Because insurance companies have to also make a profit. How do you make it profitable for them to come into the state at the same time keeping it affordable for families? Well, I'll tell you, Patrick. Look, we love the free market, right? I'm certainly not allergic to money, nor should anybody here on this stage or in this audience be. You got to really take hold of the crime and the fraud that's going on in the community. And you've got to take care of that. Right now, roofing fraud, window fraud, windshield fraud on cars, those things are driving rates up. And that cost gets passed on back to the people. We got to make sure we take care of that. And ultimately, when you do that, that's going to make the cost go down. Their profits will be there. And ultimately, it's going to make sure people have more money in their pockets long term. That's just one of many things. I think… Please, go ahead, Jay. Well, I think Jay is exactly right, that there is a fraud problem in this state, that when someone cheats their insurance company, especially illegal aliens in our state, when they cheat their insurance company after a storm, the insurance company does not pay that fraudulent claim. They pay it, and then they charge the rest of us. And so it's not a coincidence, Patrick, that we have the highest insurance rates in the nation while also having the highest fraud rates in the nation. That's why my running mate, Florida's next lieutenant governor, is a cop who has gone after white-collar crime right here in Florida. We are going to throw the book at anyone and everyone, especially illegal aliens who commit insurance fraud, prosecute them, invite the insurance companies back in, they'll make a good profit, and we can bring down the premiums and save money for Floridians. Paul, do you have any other angle yourself, any unique angle yourself? I didn't hear you, Patrick. Is there any unique angle you have yourself? Yeah, absolutely. Well, again, I have the receipts because the reforms we did were, as soon as I became Speaker of the House, to get rid of those jackpot verdicts. So when a handful of lawyers get rich at your expense, that's spread across everyone who pays insurance policies and we ended that litigation abuse when i was speaker another program that we need to talk about is the my safe florida home program which we funded at hundreds of millions of dollars it gives up to ten thousand dollars in grants for people to harden their homes new doors windows roof tie downs etc and it saves as much as a thousand dollars in premiums and so these are practical steps that we can take that allow for insurers to come into the market and that's exactly what's happened and we're seeing the benefits of that three years on now the train the plaintiff's lawyers as soon as we passed the bill and before the governor signed it went out and filed almost 300 000 new lawsuits under the old rules and so it's like the big egg moving through the snake and we have to wait for that egg to move through before we see those new rules fully take effect so the good news is even though we're several years on from those reforms in 2022 and the end of 2022 we're still seeing the benefits of that three years on now and we're seeing the benefits of that three years on now and we're seeing the benefits of that three years on now and we're seeing the benefits of that three years on now and we're still seeing benefit to now and we're seeing benefits of that three years on now and we're still seeing benefit to consumers all right all right all right um let's go let's go to the next story um let's go let's go to the next story um let's go let's go to the next story let's go to the next story the next story let's go to the next story the next story let's go to the next story the next story i want to get to is housing costs rents i want to get to is housing costs rents i want to get to is housing costs rents versus wages a new report shows a versus wages a new report shows a versus wages a new report shows a floridian needs to make 77 500 a year floridian needs to make 77 500 a year to afford an average two-bedroom rent of to afford an average two-bedroom rent of to afford an average two-bedroom rent of 1940 without overspending as governor 1940 without overspending as governor 1940 without overspending as governor how will you ease this rent and wage how will you ease this rent and wage how will you ease this rent and wage pressure so working families don't spend pressure so working families don't spend pressure so working families don't spend most of their paychecks just on housing most of their paychecks just on housing most of their paychecks just on housing james james james it's always a question of supply and it's always a question of supply and it's always a question of supply and demand right now it's no different than demand right now it's no different than demand right now it's no different than we were 10 years ago except one major we were 10 years ago except one major we were 10 years ago except one major difference florida has 1.4 million difference florida has 1.4 million difference florida has 1.4 million illegal aliens in our state the homes illegal aliens in our state the homes illegal aliens in our state the homes the rental properties the apartments the rental properties the apartments the rental properties the apartments that they are living in the fact that that they are living in the fact that that they are living in the fact that blackstone and blackrock are buying up blackstone and blackrock are buying up blackstone and blackrock are buying up all this housing supply 117 000 all this housing supply 117 000 all this housing supply 117 000 single-family homes are owned by private single-family homes are owned by private single-family homes are owned by private equity single-family homes are for equity single-family homes are for equity single-family homes are for floridians they're not for hedge funds floridians they're not for hedge funds floridians they're not for hedge funds and so what we have to do is we have to and so what we have to do is we have to and so what we have to do is we have to prevent these large investors foreign prevent these large investors foreign prevent these large investors foreign nationals from buying up our homes nationals from buying up our homes nationals from buying up our homes driving out floridians who have built driving out floridians who have built driving out floridians who have built their life here and that's how we can their life here and that's how we can their life here and that's how we can bring down costs but i also want to bring down costs but i also want to bring down costs but i also want to touch on something as well which is that touch on something as well which is that touch on something as well which is that it's not just the rent or the expenses it's not just the rent or the expenses it's not just the rent or the expenses that you pay every month it's how much that you pay every month it's how much that you pay every month it's how much you make how much money are you making you make how much money are you making you make how much money are you making today versus five or ten years ago we today versus five or ten years ago we today versus five or ten years ago we are staring down a crisis for the next are staring down a crisis for the next are staring down a crisis for the next generation i met with a young man at generation i met with a young man at generation i met with a young man at florida state university a couple months florida state university a couple months florida state university a couple months ago he applied to a hundred different ago he applied to a hundred different ago he applied to a hundred different positions at a company i won't name the positions at a company i won't name the positions at a company i won't name the company out of respect but it was amazon company out of respect but it was amazon company out of respect but it was amazon and so he had a 4.0 gpa and so he had a 4.0 gpa and so he had a 4.0 gpa computer science major and patrick he computer science major and patrick he computer science major and patrick he can't get a job from amazon because they can't get a job from amazon because they can't get a job from amazon because they told him we're not hiring american told him we're not hiring american citizens right now they're just hiring citizens right now they're just hiring citizens right now they're just hiring h1bs from india pakistan and china to h1bs from india pakistan and china to h1bs from india pakistan and china to the 1900 employers in florida right now the 1900 employers in florida right now the 1900 employers in florida right now who are using h1b foreign labor i am who are using h1b foreign labor i am who are using h1b foreign labor i am warning you once and for all fire your warning you once and for all fire your warning you once and for all fire your foreign workers hire back foreign workers hire back foreign workers hire back qualified floridians or you will face qualified floridians or you will face qualified floridians or you will face the ultimate wrath of the state of the ultimate wrath of the state of florida we must put our workers front of florida we must put our workers front of florida we must put our workers front of the line the line the line this episode is brought to you by paypal this episode is brought to you by paypal this episode is brought to you by paypal you know how a mom's bag has everything you know how a mom's bag has everything you know how a mom's bag has everything sunscreen sunscreen sunscreen snacks snacks snacks a stapler a stapler a stapler the new paypal app is like that but for the new paypal app is like that but for the new paypal app is like that but for your money shop pay manage your account your money shop pay manage your account your money shop pay manage your account and earn rewards all in one place and and earn rewards all in one place and and earn rewards all in one place 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For the first time ever, Texans have an energy plan that combines free nights all year with daytime summer savings. It's called. Free nights and cool summer. You get free nights every night all year long, plus a 25% bonus toward your daytime use all summer. It's a first-of-its-kind plan created for how Texans actually use energy. Discover how much more you could save with free nights and cool summer. TXU Energy. Energy for everything. Visit TXU.com for more information. Rep number 10004. Jay, do you agree with James? Yeah, I agree with the premise. Of what he's talking about, that's. We know we have an illegal immigration issue across the United States of America. Look, every state is a border state. That's just the reality of it. We have to take that threat serious. We've talked about it. If we have two million illegal aliens in the state of Florida, four people per house, that's half a million homes or apartments being taken out of circulation. Let's talk a little bit about other notes of that. The American dream is what's important. The American dream is what we're discussing. The American dream can never be broken down to just getting by and having. barely enough or just eking it out. Guys, that's not the America that we fought for. That's not the American dream that I want. What I want to see is more opportunity, more jobs, more growth in those industries to raise it up, to make a difference in the families. We have to bring back the trades. Did you know the average tradesman is 58 years old? The average farmer is 58.9. When you raise that up and you get more people into the workforce, great things happen. The free market works. Where we run into problems. As conservatives, as Republicans, it's when we forget our principle and we oversubsidize, we play games, and ultimately it ends up causing problems down the road. If you want to bring back more affordability, you want to drive down the cost of rent, we have to project and take care of affordability and the quality of life across our entire state. That has to be the number one focus of what we're doing. It's the number one thing I talk about moving forward and the number one thing I hear about everywhere I go in the free state of Florida. Thank you, Jay. Thank you, Jay. Paul. So we are a victim of our success. Millions are moving into our state, much like illegals coming into this country because they have failed countries where they came from. There are failed states now in America, and people want to live in Florida. And look, if I could, I often say I would love to build a wall at the Georgia-Alabama line and make California pay for it to keep people from coming in. Because it is a supply and demand problem. I agree with James on illegal immigrants as being a source of the problem. Part of my affordability plan, and I also agree on H-1Bs, is that we will have no H-1Bs as state employees. You will not have a state contract and be allowed to have any H-1B workers. Florida jobs for Florida workers, period, full stop. Now, I'm the only candidate, for whatever reason, in this race that has a comprehensive program to end property taxes for those who need it most. And part of that will have some replacement taxes. And part of that is to raise the taxes on what James described as out-of-state private equity. And he's right, over $100,000. Now, we're talking about over $100,000 homes that they bought up, single-family homes, and turned into rentals. Now, what's wrong with that? First of all, that's hundreds of millions of dollars out of Floridians' pockets that never hits the local economy or the state economy. And secondly, there are over 100,000 homes not available for purchase, meaning you can't earn the American dream. My property tax proposal also will allow for special incentives for first-time homebuyers. And I'm not talking about you've lived in New York, and this is your third house, but your first one in Florida, but you're a Florida resident. You're living with mom at age 35, so I got good news for you, mom and dad. We're going to get them out of the house and make sure that they have an opportunity to buy their first home and not wait, and not wait, as the stats show, until 44 years of age to buy your first home. That's why we have Zeron Mondami, because when people feel the door is locked shut and the deadbolt set, you will listen to the Pied Pipers of the far left or the far right. But Mondami is a creature of the far left, and he's promising the moon, and then all he ever delivers is the moon. Once he got elected, we're tax increases. Paul, thank you for that. I want to come back to you, Paul, since you brought up property tax. One of the challenges with property tax, which, you know, we see we're very supportive of what the governor is doing, trying to make it easier for folks with $150,000 to $250,000. But if this leading effort that he has to eliminate property tax for $60,000 is not going to be enough, then 60 percent of primary homeowners. There's an analysis that came out recently. I don't know if you've seen it from Tax Foundation. Warrant cities will lose $4.6 billion of revenue year one, $8.4 billion year two, potentially raising sales taxes to 15.34 percent. This is their analysis. Do you support or oppose the homeownership tax cuts? And if you do, if you support them, how would you pay for it? Well, look, the governor recently came out and said he's not going to campaign for it. You can say it's better than nothing, but I'm not a huge fan. And here's why. My proposal does what this proposal doesn't do. What the governor called for is truly end taxes for homeowners. So this proposal will still have school taxes, so you'll still be paying when you're 90 years old and you've paid off your home. My proposal has a $1 million assessment on all taxes, so it will address 95 percent of homeowners and eliminate their homestead property tax. We have help for small businesses, mom and pops, that will get a major tax cut, as well as for renters. And we do that through a combination of savings. As conservatives, we should always save first. That means permanent doge in this state, not just local governments, but the state, the universities, special districts. You know, we spend, Patrick, over $200 billion of taxpayer money. Can we not save $10 to $20 billion out of that, less than 5 or 10 percent of the whole, so that we don't have to have replacement taxes? But my plan does provide for replacement taxes for those 911 services, police and fire. When you call 911, you're going to get a $1 million discount. When you call 911, you want them there in two minutes, not 20. And so we have up to $20 plus billion, if we need it, in replacement taxes that's much less than the benefit. And we're going to do that by taxing people who vacation here and who speculate here. And I already referenced out-of-state private equity. Tourists will pay a little bit more. Major multinational corporations will pay a little bit more in tax fairness. That is how we'll do it. And we'll also seek a way to help the state in a way that's constitutional and take care of those, because I am running a Florida First campaign, which means all I care about are the men, women, and children who call Florida home. And those that are coming here to vacation or speculate here can pay as part of the bill. Thank you, Paul. Thank you, Paul. Okay. James, how about yourself? What's your position with property tax here? My position on property taxes? Yes. It's pretty simple. I don't support relieving your property taxes. I don't support reforming your property taxes. I support reforming your property taxes. I support one thing and one thing only, and that is completely and totally abolishing property taxes in the state of Florida. Completely. Now, I'm a business guy on the stage, so let me tell you how we do the math on it. It's pretty simple. In the last five years, in the last five years, property tax revenue in our state is up 76 percent. They're collecting, Patrick, 76 percent more today than they did in the last five years. And that's a lot of money. That's a lot of money. five years ago. To the people watching at home, is your government doing a 76 percent better job? Are your roads 76 percent better? Your schools 76 percent better? Does anyone believe that DMV is 76 percent more efficient? No. So we got a problem. Guess what? It's called doge. It's called audit. It's called remove the waste, fraud, and foolishness. Here are two numbers that every Floridian needs to know. There is a $20 billion increase in property taxes in the state of Florida. That 76 percent represents. The cost, Patrick, to make sure that no one in this room and no one watching at home who calls Florida home never pays a property tax bill again is just $18 billion. So what we have to do is we have to get local governments like Broward County, Miami-Dade County, Orange, Osceola, Hillsboro, we have to get them to live within our means. Governor DeSantis just signed the state budget into law. It is the fourth year in a row, the fourth year in a row, that the state budget has actually gotten smaller, while Broward, Dade, and Palm Beach County waste more of your hard-earned money. Hire me as governor. I will go in there not with a scalpel, not with a rake. I'm going in there with a chainsaw, and I'm going to save billions of dollars and pass the savings on to you. Thank you, James. Jay. I appreciate it, Patrick. Yeah, look, this property tax bill was far short of expectations. In our administration, we talked very clearly about what we wanted to do. It's not all property tax. It's homestead property tax. Since 2019, we've seen $31 billion raise up to $61 billion in property tax. That's a significant shift. Have you seen the commensurate growth in roads, sanitation, education, law and order, fire departments? I don't think so. We know we haven't. We know that less than 30% of our property tax dollars in the state of Florida come from homesteaded property tax. The people in these cities and counties, y'all, they have a vested interest in maintaining what they have in padding numbers, growing budgets, and growing positions. Very simply, if I can put it clearly, we don't have an income problem. We have a spending problem at the city and county level. That has to be stopped. Now, you've seen everybody here talk about DOGE and FAFO. It's accountability. We don't have responsibility. You can't have responsibility without a accountability. And the simple fact is this. When I ran JLAC, which is a little bit of a crazy opportunity in the Senate and in the House, down in the basement, I had the opportunity to shut off funding for people who had external money from the state going to them. That's cities, that's counties. And here's why. You see, they had failed their audits. They hadn't returned them for years in some instances. When we did that, do you know what happened when we took away their money? It was very clear. They got their audits, and you know who was at the front of the line the next year? Those very same organizations. You have to hold people accountability. Without accountability, we have nothing. Great answer. Thank you. Okay. Let's play a game here. If we can get the ladies to come up one by one by one, we're going to play a game called Price is Right. Okay? And here's how the game works. I will state a product in the state of Florida, okay, what the price of this product is going to be. You're going to give your number, whoever's closest, up or down, whatever's the closest. So if you say 505, and it's five, you say 490. The 505 wins because it's closer by the penny. So not the typical Price is Right. I'm sure we've all watched it before. We're going to play our rules, whoever's closest to the dollar. And then we'll see who knows actually what Floridians are going through on a day-to-day basis. So if we're ready, do we have the products? Please bring the products up if the ladies are ready. Let's start off with the first one. The first one is a dozen grade A eggs. Start off with a dozen grade A eggs. You can't help them, by the way. I see the camps are here. So don't throw signs or anything. We're watching the cameras are on you. Okay? So James, how much are the price of a dozen grade A eggs? Well, my wife forces me to buy the organic, but I know those from a previous life. Those are about $2.50. $2.50, James. Okay. About $2.75 a dozen. $2.75 a dozen. Paul? I was going to say $2.52, but just to hedge, I'll say $2.45. How's that? Non-organic. $2.45. So the average is $2.58, which the first one goes to Fishback. Okay. So Fishback got one so far. You would have said $2.52. You would have had it. Don't overthink it. You're on the right track. All right. Next one. One gallon of whole milk. Jay, I'll come to you first. It's about $3 a gallon. Okay. James? About $4.50 a gallon. $4.50. Paul? $3.50. $3.50. It's $4.22. James Fishback takes this one as well. All right. Let's go to the next one. All those trips to Publix and Live Oak, my wife sends me two. All right. Let's see the next one. One loaf of white bread. Paul? $2.75. James? About $3.20. $3.20. Jay? We go with $2.65. $2.65. This one goes to Jay Collins. $2.50. There you go. Collins picked one up. Paul, we got to get on the leader's bulletin. Let's go next one. One gallon of regular unleaded gasoline. AAA prices as of today for Florida. Fishback? About $4.35. $4.35. Guys, don't answer, please. If you answer again, I'm going to ask you to leave. Please don't do that again. I'm being respectful. I'm being respectful with you. Let's enjoy their answers. Okay. James, you said $4.50. Next. $3.85. $3.85. Paul? I was going to say $3.85, too, so I'm going with my original answer. Which is what? $3.85. Both of you guys are saying $3.85? Yeah, $3.85. One of you guys got to say, you got to say a different number. All right. $3.90. $3.90. It's $3.81, which means this goes to Jay. So Jay's got two now. Jay Collins and Fishback are tied at two. Next one. Very important to the president. This is very important to the president. Next one. A Big Mac meal. Oh. Oh. Oh. James? A Big Mac meal. Jay and I are tied? No, no. You guys are tied. Yeah. We're tied. You're tied two and two. Jay, if I win this one, you got to drop the lawsuit. Big Mac meal. Big Mac meal. Gosh. That's almost $9.50. $9.50. Okay. Jay? I think it's about $11.75. All right. Paul? Uh, $8.75. $8.75. You know, it's $13.99, which goes to Collins. Collins takes the lead. All right. We know who goes to McDonald's here. Not me. There you go. You've got to hope that ice cream machine is working, brother. All right, let's go to the next one. One package of Pampers diapers, 100 count. A lot. A lot. It's been a while. I'm a 6- and a 4-year-old. It hasn't been that long. What do you say, Paul? It's like a pay raise when you stop having diapers. It is, 100 of them. Oh, man, that's a tough one. We order them in bulk. So I'm going to say 10 bucks. 10 bucks. Jay? For a count of 100? 100. Oh, 100. 100. Is that 100? No, is that 100? No, we're going with 100. Don't worry about this. This is just a model here. This is a model. No, forgive me. So it's 100. How many are in there? That's 26. 26? I would say 35 bucks. Okay. All right. Jay? 46. 46? Fishback? I haven't had to purchase them yet, but we may have an announcement coming soon. Really? Are you making that right now? I'm making an announcement about an announcement. Okay. That's how it works? Okay. So what's the number? Gosh, I don't know. You've got to guess. What did you say, Jay? 46. Jay said 46. Paul said 35. I'd say 42. 42. So it's 27, which Paul gets his first one. There you go, Paul. All right. You've seen a lot of those. Next one. 24-pack of bottled water. 24-pack at Walgreens. Jay? All right. So we're 24-pack. Let's go with 24-pack. About 425. Okay. 425. Paul? 15 bucks. 15 bucks. James? About 510. 510. This one goes to fishback. It's 549. All right. It's a tie. Paul's got one fishback. By the way, we only have three left. We only have four left. So let's see how this goes. A pound of ground beef, 70-30. James? Pound of ground beef, 70-30. About eight, nine bucks. Nine bucks. Nine bucks. Okay. Jay? $7.65 a pound. $7.65. Paul? I was going to say $7.50. $7.50. This goes to Paul because it's $4.99. So there you go, Paul. You picked that one up. What? You can make a little more noise. This is good. Paul got his second one. All right. Next one. This is Florida. Five-pound bag of oranges. Jay? Let's go with about $9.75. $9.75. Okay. Paul? I'm going to go with six bucks. Six bucks. James? About eight bucks. Eight bucks. This goes to Paul at $6.50. Paul's making a comeback. By the way, we have two more left. It's down to the wire. Paul made a comeback. It's 3-3-3. There you go. Someone's going to win it now. Here we go. Monthly average car insurance payment. Paul? Car insurance. I'm going to say monthly. Monthly. Monthly, I would say $75. Monthly. Car insurance. Car insurance. You want to change it? Can I go back? Yes. Because I'm paying monthly now. So I'm going to go higher. Go for it. How about $2.50? $2.50. Okay. Jay? It's $2.35. $2.35. James? I can tell you I'm paying more on the insurance than I am on the car payment. So in our case, it's about $3.50. $3.50. $3.50. It's actually $1.81, which means this goes to Jay. Jay picked it up. So Jay's at four now. Last but not least. Either Jay's going to win it or someone's going to tie him. Monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment. In Florida. Monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Florida. $1,700. Jay? $1,700. James? Is it statewide? Statewide. Statewide. It's about $1,300. $1,300. Paul? I think it's higher statewide. $2,400. $2,400. Oh, $2,375. $1,685. Jay Collins picks it up. Make some noise. All right, Jay. That's a pretty big victory right there. That you had. All right, so let's transition to the next story. Byron Donalds is not here. He's watching. His team is probably watching. What message do you have for Byron Donalds, who posted their numbers, almost $100 million they've raised. On every poll he's ahead, 48%, 58%, raised 10 times more money than everybody combined. These are the numbers that they're putting up there. He's getting endorsement from the president and many others. He's got another one today as well, I believe, from the AG, if I'm not mistaken. They made sure they put it out there to the public. What message do you have for Byron? What message do you have for Byron Donalds for not being here right now? James, I'll come to you first. Well, my message is pretty simple. Byron Donalds made history this past week by raising $100 million, the most ever. Our campaign made history by being the first campaign in Florida running for governor to visit all 67 counties. That's not hard to do. That's not easy to do. And I can tell you that when you're in small counties like Liberty and Dixie and Hernando, but big counties like this one where I grew up, you really appreciate the state that we have. I'm a fourth generation Floridian born and raised. I was born right here in Broward County Public Schools my entire life here. My dad ran a small business here. My granddad, after World War II, was a professor at Florida Atlantic University up the road. And my great granddad, after World War I, ran a small hotel on Fort Lauderdale Beach. This is the greatest state in the country, and we have to keep it that way. Fantastic. Look, when I talk to Byron on this, it's very clear. We have this little thing. In 1776, one person doesn't get to maintain control and say they're in charge, and this is how it's going to work. We don't do kings in the United States of America. We sure don't do them in Florida. Look, if you can't show up on the debate stage, you can't show up in the community, you can't try to sit here and fight to earn the right to lead the free state of Florida, what are you doing? If you're that far ahead, you've raised that much money, why are you so scared to get on the debate stage? I understand it's about politics, but you've got to grow a spine. You've got to stand up, and you've got to fight for the people of Florida. Guys, it's that simple. Nothing's going to be given to you. When I got shot, blown up, and wanted to be qualified as a Green Beret, they didn't give it to me. I got up, I fought for it, and I earned it. It's exactly the same thing with a new governor's mansion. If you want to be the next leader, you've got to stand up, fight for it, earn it. That is the free state of Florida model. This episode is brought to you by PayPal. You know how a mom's bag has everything? Sunscreen? Snacks? A stapler? The new PayPal app is like that, but for your money. Shop, pay, manage your account, and earn rewards all in one place. And with purchase protection on eligible items, biometric security, and pass keys, you're protected at every step. Download the new PayPal app to get started. See paypal.com slash protection terms. When you need to build up your team to handle the growing chaos at work, use Indeed Sponsored Jobs. It gives your job post the boost it needs to be seen, and helps reach people with the right skills, certifications, and more. Spend less time searching, and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes. 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It's called Free Nights in Cool Summer. You get free nights every day. Free night all year long. Plus a 25% bonus toward your daytime use all summer. Discover how much more you could save with Free Nights in Cool Summer. TXU Energy. Rep number 10004. Paul, every voter in this audience, everyone watching, everyone in this state deserves a debate. And it's. disrespectful of Byron Donalds not to come on this stage make his case as to why he is better able to lead the state for the next eight years. But there's a reason to make the case as to why he's better qualified than the other candidates, but there's a reason he won't, because he's not. And the other thing about Byron Donalds, Patrick, you mentioned all the money he's raised. What is so offensive to me is he's raised all this money, and yet he took advantage of a Democrat-imposed constitutional amendment to take taxpayer funding money to run his campaign. As a conservative, I was not even going to think about taking that money. He's going to get hundreds of thousands of dollars out of your pocket when you can't pay your bills with all the items we just talked about, and that is not conservative to me. It's disqualifying, and he should be ashamed of himself, but that's what's happening. So, an open-ended question. Any one of you can take it first. Why does he have such a big lead? Why do majority of Floridians, want on him to be their next governor, not any one of you? Well, I'll tell you what, with the president's endorsement, it's very clear. He came out here in March. He's had a 17-month head start to many people. Guys, why are we doing that? He's been out there for this long. What's the leader in the clubhouse? It's not Byron Donalds. It's undecided. Let's put it another way. 42% of people have had 17 months, give or take, to choose Byron Donalds, and what do they do? They said no. They're not picking him. We don't bequeath anybody. You don't just get it because you want it. You get it because you earn it. Why is he out there? He's been out for a long time. Yes, he's getting all the money. Yes, he has endorsements, but he doesn't have the will of the people, and we forget history. Governor Ron DeSantis wasn't polling in first place eight years ago today. Adam Putnam was. What does history show us? Adam Putnam isn't the governor. How about eight years before that? Rick Scott, same exact thing. That was running against our Attorney General McCollum. And where do we find ourselves today? We find ourselves in the exact same position. You got to show up, you got to earn it, because the free state of Florida is full of Florida guy and Florida gal, and you don't bend a knee to anybody. You stand up for your rights, and you vote how you choose. James, why do you think the majority of Floridians are choosing him over any one of you? Well, I reject the premise, because you're referring to polls, the same polls that have been wrong time and time again. They were wrong about President Trump. The same exact pollsters that now say that Byron Donalds is the president of the United States, and they're not going to vote for him. They're going to vote for him. And the only thing that's going to happen is that the president is ahead, even though you can't find somebody, if your life depended on it, who loves Byron Donalds. They're now telling you, they're now telling you that Byron Donalds is the most popular guy in Florida. Here's the truth. When I travel to small counties all over the state and big counties like the one that I was raised in here in Broward, when I meet with voters, they want someone who's going to do three things. Someone who's going to fight for law and order, not someone who, like Byron Donalds, fought in 2019 to let criminals steal up to $1,000 of your stuff and get away with it. We can't have that. The only place criminals should be is rotting in jail, and Byron Donalds is the wrong choice for that. Paul, I'm going to come to you, and I want to get your thoughts as well. Yeah, I want to respond if I could. Oh, I will come to you, and I'll share this if you want to go to it or not. Even if we look at CalShe right now, which a lot of folks right now are looking at CalShe more than they're looking at polls because it's real money that people are putting up. $7.9 million, almost $8 million of volume is on CalShe, and they have Byron Donalds. Byron Donalds at 95.5%. How much of that money is from out of state? There you go. And how much of that money is from a Middle Eastern country? Okay, so that's a fair question. And if I may. They're rigging it. They're rigging the election. Hold on a second. Let me. Please. And how much of the money he's raised that you talked about is also out of state? The special interests are desperate to get rid of Ron DeSantis so they can have somebody and install someone who will do the special interest bidding. And that is Byron Donalds. So, you know. Hold on a second. If you go around to the grassroots, and everybody on this stage knows this, the one thing that stands out, and it must be unlike any other election where the frontrunner or someone endorsed by the president, where the base, the activists, the people that pay the most attention to these elections do not want Byron Donalds. And I say to people, look, you can go onto my website at voterunner.com, but the more research you do, the more you're going to want me for your governor. The less you're going to want Byron Donalds for your governor. And that is the signal I see in this race, Patrick, is that the more people look at Byron, the more they walk away and they're looking for somebody else as their next governor. Jay, 30 seconds, and I have a follow-up for all of you, please. Yeah, look, I'm going to reiterate the exact same thing to a degree. Look, you go around the counties, people say the same exact thing. They don't want Byron. They love President Trump. They're not enamored with Byron Donalds. They meet him, they see him, they hear him, and they like him less moment by moment by moment. The simple fact is this. Follow the money. Look at the lobby corps. Look at what they want. They don't want a leader who's going to stand strong for the people of Florida. They want someone who's going to bend a knee to special interests, play games, and be a puppet for what's ahead. Guys, that's not the Florida way. So the follow-up then would be for all of you is the following. It's very obvious all of you are complimentary of the governor, Governor DeSantis. Every one of you has been very complimentary of the governor. The number shows. He went from the first time winning by 34,000 votes, but the second time he won by one and a half million votes. He's done an amazing job. Everybody loves living here. Most people do. Republicans are very happy with him. I guess one of the things would be important to say is what do you think is different from Byron Donalds than the current governor, Ron DeSantis? I'll come to you first, James. Wow. Well, we're going to need another three hours for that. Take 60 seconds. What is the time limit? I actually want to hear your argument. Go for it. Yeah. Well, the three biggest things right off the bat is that Byron Donalds took $5 million from Mark Zuckerberg to build data centers in every single neighborhood in this state. Ron DeSantis has been clear. Ron DeSantis has been clear that you're not going to build data centers in our neighborhoods. And as governor, I will reject and remove every single one of them. That's the number one difference between them. Number two, Ron DeSantis is a law and order governor. He's not the kind of guy who's going to let criminals steal $1,000 of your stuff and in the name of equity, get them out of jail. For free. That is exactly what Byron Donalds did as a legislator in this state. And the third one, if I can be brutally honest, Byron Donalds can't serve Florida because he doesn't know what real Florida is like. If you want to fight for citrus farmers and frost proof in Sebring and in Avon Park, you have to have grown up in these places. I remember smelling citrus growing up in West Davie. I remember what cattle ranchers had 20, 30 years ago. Byron Donalds was born and raised in New York City, and it shows. And we need a true Floridian to lead the state. Thank you, James. Yeah, look, Byron Donalds is all talking points all the time. He'll tell you he wants a balanced budget, but in Congress, he's never once sponsored anything to send that out to the states for ratification. For that matter, unlike me, he's never balanced a budget in his whole time in Congress. The governor is a principled conservative in Byron Donalds as, as, as, as James just said, is taking tons of money from big tech that want to fill up our state with hyperscale data centers. And that will not happen on my watch. When I'm governor, we'll come in in the special session for affordability and stop the construction of those data centers. This is a clear issue that is distinctly against the interest of a Florida first agenda that is distinctly going to hurt our rural communities and all of our communities in driving up electric rates and damaging our aquifer. In damaging our environment, and they know it, but Byron Donalds has been singing their tune ever since he got that money until this week. He's starting to listen to his pollsters, and he realizes this is not a popular position to take. My position, and I think James's as well, has been very crystal clear. We're not going to allow these data centers in our state, full stop, period. Jay, specific question, Ron DeSantis, Byron Donalds. How different will it be? Incredibly different. The number one thing is courage and a moral compass. Guys, Ron DeSantis wasn't America's governor until he stepped into the breach and protected our people and our way of life when the whole world was folding down on top of us. They muzzled our kids. They took away individual freedoms, and they crushed small business. But one man stood. Do you believe that Byron Donalds will stand and take on the onslaught of everybody else across this world? Absolutely not. He does not have that fortitude, nor that courage. Number two. It's performance. Look, I'm a retired Green Beret. I served in the Senate for three years. I'm the lieutenant governor of Florida. The best indicator of future performance is past performance. Ron DeSantis shows up, works hard, gets things done. What has Byron ever done? What has he been successful at? What has he done that's made a difference? And let's talk about data centers. Guys, we all agree it's not, it's the hyperscalers that are the issue. These experimental hyperscalers that are taking 50 to 100,000 dollars, a city worth of power and water, up to 50 to 100,000 people. That's an incredible number. That's a shocking revelation. But we have to protect our people. It's about power. It's about water. And it's about clarity, and performance, and protection. Look, Byron Donalds is a two-time felon. Byron Donalds, frankly, does not believe in law and order. Byron Donalds is a two-time felon. Byron Donalds wanted to change the age of a minor from 16 to 25. That would have made career criminals. He also wanted to raise the age of the line for felonious crime from 750 to 1500 guys that's not the way we do this but in the summer of love when law enforcement were on their heels what did byron do he eulogized george floyd is still on his congressional website guys that's not good enough that's not the florida way and i patrick if i can jump into look i talked about we need a governor i'll come to you let me let me ask this question for you guys because i have three other topics to get and we have to get into ai data centers and a couple other games we're still going to play as well just a question for you so if he is let's say he's at 48 to 58 let's assume that's the number that i don't assume that's i'm gonna assume i'll take the assumption and i'll look bad but let's i'm gonna assume it's 48 to 58 okay if we look strictly on the republican primary side for florida what if two of you dropped out to get the percentage to go up on the other individual to go up against byron donalds would would would you entertain that idea and if not this is the next part that i kind of want to go we just went against byron donalds then we went on byron donalds compared to ron de santis but let's talk about the folks on the panel i'm going to open up the next 10 minutes for you individually to ask each other any questions it's open you're officially the moderator each of you gets to ask the other person a question and address certain issues because the audience has to decide right now hey if you guys continue going like this it's a it's done it's slam dunk for byron donalds right we have to now decide which of you three can go up against them one-on-one so i'll open it up who would like to go first well i'll answer i think i'm answering your question is that byron donalds is the name you know for this reason for the last five years in congress dc's a very dangerous place but the most dangerous place in washington dc is between byron donalds and a tv camera he has never missed an interview but he's missed over 150 votes in his five years in congress why is that so it's a very dangerous place but the most dangerous place in why would you give a guy a job promotion that doesn't show up for the job he has and so we are all competing up here and i would just point you to leadership background who's been tried who's had positions of trust in that battle-tested leader i don't know that byron donalds has ever run a lemonade stand and so voters as he sold drugs though he had he well he has made some money and he's you know what james he's also and you know this he's also making a lot of money in congress and it's very interesting to me he left uh the florida house not a million he goes up to to washington dc he's trading 11 million dollars worth of stock trades missing required disclosures and yet he comes back and he even reports that they're worth millions of dollars he and his wife comes back and in his state filing as to how much he's worth guess we just did the eggs guess how much byron donalds is worth 89 000 he is dead broke as a congressman and if you believe that you should vote for him for for governor i guess but he is on this that that points been clear thank you for that let's stay on the topic it's now i don't know that i mean i don't know that voters know that i and i appreciate i don't know that they know that but but we we've gone 10 minutes into byron's and i'm telling you that they got plenty of it which is great now let's talk about the three of you open mic address any question against your peers because the audience has to now see between the three of you some people are don't follow politics as closely as others some people are not following all the stories some people are not up on the news what questions do you have for each other specifically to three of you james please take the lead jay if they're going to build a large experimental data center in a neighborhood here in broward county or up in sumter county and you had the opportunity to stop it to ban new experimental data centers in florida would you do that yes or no i'm not going to give you a yes or no i'm going to give you the real answer here look life is very very clear well let me finish here's the facts you have to understand governance and you have to understand that you just don't get to drop bombs that's not how government they're going to bomb our government we're going to bomb our government with rising rising electricity rates we're going to destroy our water james james yeah you're right yeah i i would but not at the state level we want to empower the local people the local governments the local people don't want anything you're absolutely right and they should ban that at that local level at the city or county level though once government starts reaching in and clawing back it never slows down i'm at the state level nobody wants the state reaching in do you want the federal government in your life more what we want is a state level government is we want a leader to stand up and ban data centers in florida and as governor i'll be proud to do that so let me be clear here james what you're talking about isn't a governor are you gonna be a king are you gonna be the king of florida listen is that what you're gonna do what what is the dictatorship is a billionaire like mark zuckerberg running roughshod over tallahassee saying it doesn't matter what the people think we are going to actually build a data center that's going to destroy our communities jay can i ask you yes or no question have the power to do it have there been long-term health studies done on data centers yes or no yes there have there have there have that's not true what what's where's the study from uh i'll tell you what james i don't have it on me right now look at this do you see it here yes there have been data centers just came about four years ago there's been no long-term health studies i stand with rfk we're not going to have emf we're not going to have audible noise pollution next to our elementary schools with project tamgo and certainly not next to the community in fort meade hire me governor we will ban every data center in all 67 counties james let me ask you a question how do you think the people in the cities and counties are going to feel about the state government take coming in and taking control of that they want let me finish talking man please come on look the reality is they want local leadership they want to be empowered yes they do james they do they want to have say in their local life brother you know this you grew up in a small town just like i did where was it where did i grow up yeah i think you grew up uh where did i grow up jay where did i grow up here i think you called madison home right i grew up here in florida right all right case closed drop the lawsuit oh really james let me be clear on this buddy we're not going to discuss that and the reality is why not why don't we discuss the fact that a montana man hired a california lawyer to sue governor desantis's administration to remove a fourth generation floridian from your state you're trying to steal the election with byron donalds because the reality is this isn't about large clicks it's not about the games you play you literally just said i'm from florida and now you're suing me because i'm not from florida will you drop the lawsuit yes or no james you're trying to steal the election like oh my goodness gracious there you go again james you're killing me man the reality is this that is a matter for the court i actually respect the judicial system to make sure that we do that the right way james i know you don't respect the judicial system your whole life has shown that the simple facts are this have i been have i been arrested i think you're confusing me with byron donalds he's the one who's been arrested the simple fact is this that is a matter for the courts we respect the judicial system and that's how that works but look when it comes to the court said when it comes to the murder of children did you respect that decision when it comes to the question of the court i'm not going to do that question at hand on the data center you have to do the segregation of black children did you defend that decision you have to james stop playing games man there you go you want to play games you want to do the things dude just stop man the data centers are an issue hyperscalers what are you going to do about it i'm trying to tell you dude you want to let me talk or what are you just going to keep interrupting hey patrick can i can i jump in because i i feel like if we i'm going to give i'm going to give jay 30 seconds to respond can i jump in hang on one second jay i'm going to give you 30 seconds to respond then i'm going to go to paul paul you get to address any question to anybody else i'm going to come to you right afterwards jay go for it finish your thoughts patrick look the simple fact is this when it comes to data centers you have to have guardrails you have to lead and the people in the state of florida don't want the state of florida jumping in over the top they want to have local rule you have to respect their ability to do the right thing and put that forward but you have to have a backstop you have to have the state willing to step in and make a difference that's how government works you don't want the federal government solving all your problems any government big enough to give you anything can take anything that's the problem that's the reality and we all agree when you listen to this let me be clear on this guys all three of us are very wary of hyperscalers you should be afraid they're selling you snake oil and it's a problem but we have to make sure we have guardrails because nothing in life is static it continues to work i want to thank kamala harris for the word salad thank you that was pretty clear well look first of all i i don't know how much the people listening or in the audience uh care about these personal disputes if we were at a dining room table you know where the kids table is uh right now with all the back and forth frankly and so i do have a question for jay because jay you've said that it's not possible for the state to regulate hyperscale data centers at the state level why do you believe that is and if you believe the state shouldn't be involved why did you sponsor a bill to give them permanent tax incentives at the expense of everybody watching tonight well paul that's a great question you're uh doing what often is the case you're misrepresenting the simple fact is this i believe in local government i believe in the local government's right to enforce and take care of business and yeah i did but paul do you think that you've learned things did i run that bill i did but the simple fact is this i learned you ran the bill paul you're gonna let me finish or you're gonna play the same games come on geez louise man jay i've asked you a simple question i'm not playing games My question is, why do you think the state cannot regulate, as I will, and I think James will, on day one, as soon as my hand leaves the Bible with my wife when I'm sworn in as governor, we're going into a special session on affordability. We will stop these hyperscale data centers. And my question is, if you understand Florida well enough to be its governor, why do you think it's not legal or constitutional to pass restrictions on a hyperscale data center? And we have data centers, but these massive data centers that drive up electric rates, that damage our aquifer, it is in the people's interest and in a Florida-first agenda to pursue that. Why do you believe that's not possible? Paul, I'm pretty sure you voted for these as well. Not all data centers are hyperscalers. I've asked you a question you refuse to answer. Why do you think the state cannot regulate hyperscale data centers? I don't think it's the state's business. I think you should push that down to the local level and let the local government step in. You should have a moratorium. They should put a pause in things. And they should. Yes or no? Can the state regulate hyperscale data centers? This is the answer. This is the answer. This is the answer. Paul. Let's just state the obvious. They're not serious about running against Byron Donalds. They're worried about me. And guys, here's the problem. Paul, no one's buying your game. Jay. Jay. You're like a walking white paper, man. Jay, if I'm worried about you, why the hell are you suing me to remove me from the ballot? So, the last person that we need to get to is Jay. Jay, do you have any questions for either opponent? Well, I think you should answer my question before he asks a question. Well, I haven't had an opportunity because you want to have shenanigans and tomfoolery over here. Answer the question. It's a simple question. I gave you a green paddle, a red paddle. It's a yes or no. Can the state regulate? No. We don't need from the peanut gallery. What can you do at the state level to regulate data centers? And if you don't believe that's possible, state it. But you're. It's not about banning them as you go in. It's about having guardrails. You just heard it. He will not ban data centers. I will as governor. There will not be a data center in the state of Florida. There you go again. The only one playing games is you by letting Mark Zuckerberg and George Soros build data centers in our neighborhoods. Guys, give me a break on this. Good Lord. Why don't you give the people of Fort Meade and Sumter County a break? They do not want a data center. You're right. But it's how you're doing it. Are you saying that Governor Ron DeSantis handled this wrong? Are you saying he doesn't know how to handle his business? Because what has he done? He has guardrails to the left and right. James, that's a fact. He didn't ban them. What he said is you can't pass the cost of power to the people nor the water. But the reality is you have to make sure that you know who that third party is. Who's the person behind the data center? You all want to play these hyperbolic games. A little childish here. A lot childish. A lot childish there. Guys, the reality is how we do this matters. Guardrails continue to grow with the problem. Listen. This is not a static environment and things will continue. The reality is do you believe that all data centers are exactly the same? Yes. I think they're all bad. I think they are. You think they're all bad. I just want to say this while we're going through this. I think they're really bad. We ran a poll. We ran a poll. We ran a poll of the audience that's watching. Remember, the audience that's watching this is mainly the audience that's interested in Florida. And the question is how they feel about data centers. The audience voted, 85% of the audience voted that they oppose data centers. Perfect. Now, that's the audience. We don't know what that means. That's what the audience is saying. And it's time we regulate them at the state level. Let me go to Jay. James, respectfully, Jay, please. Do you have any questions you'd like to ask your opponent? Yeah. Paul, you know, I hear you talk about this. I'm curious, what are you going to do that's different than, than James? How would you work with him if he were elected governor? What would you do? Tell me about your relationship and how that's going to work. I don't even understand your question. I'm not working with. Don't you? I'm not even, I mean, I don't understand your, I'm not. You're talking about a hypothetical. I'm not interested in working with anybody. I'm running to be the next governor and put Florida first. Paul, there's clear collaboration. No, there's not. Clear. No, there's not. If there was clear collaboration, we wouldn't both be on the stage right now. I think that's obvious. Paul, there you go, man. You're, you're killing me. Smalls. You are. Look, what I want to know is how are you going to work with other people? Let me make it a little bit more simple here. How are you going to work with other people on this stage of their elected governor? What would you do to support them? How are you going to make a difference with them? I don't have to work with, I don't know what you're talking about. You're asking me to work with James. Do you believe in our way? Look, I hope that a Republican wins in November. Are you asking whether I'll break my back to campaign for Byron Donalds? Probably not. I'm not going to vote for a Democrat, but you said you'll break your back for him. So is that how you feel? Is that how you're going to work with him? So you're going to vote for a Democrat or you're just not going to vote? No, I'm not going to vote for a Democrat. I've never voted for a Democrat. Look, Jay, you know, it's interesting to me that you're having this conversation with James about residency. As you know, you have to live here seven years. But curiously, you've only made that requirement yourself as of January. You only moved into this. You moved into the state in 2019. 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You get free nights every night, all year long, plus a 25% bonus toward your daytime use all summer. TXU Energy. Visit TXU.com for more. For more information, rep number 1-0-0-0-4. Just a quick show of hands on the stage and in the audience. Quick show of hands if you voted for Ron DeSantis in 2018. Jay, why didn't you vote for Ron DeSantis in 2018? Well, sorry, I wasn't really listening to your question. Did you vote for Ron DeSantis in 2018, yes or no? In 2018? Yes. Oh. That's a no. That's a no. Yeah, so, you know, the fact is, James, I had to sit and think through my career here, and I understand that you haven't done anything to go out there and actually put yourself forward or serve the people, and the best thing you've done is whatever you're doing with your life right now. But look, man, I served our nation. I did for 23 years. My wife did 20 years. Paul did over 20 years. You're the only one. You're the only one on the stage who actually hasn't done that. So you're going to say that because I was serving my nation, bleeding for our nation, breaking my butt off everywhere I went to do the right thing, that that's a problem? No, I asked you if you voted for Ron DeSantis in 2018. That's not relevant, James, because the simple fact is this. No, it absolutely is relevant. Where was I? Hey, and Patrick, if I can jump in, if I can jump in, Jay did ask me a question of how I would work with a hypothetical governor in a hypothetical election, and you just said a minute ago, Byron's got this thing taken care of. But here's what I'll say. How will I work with the legislature is the same way I worked with the legislature when I was Speaker of the House. The governor said that the two years that I led the legislature in the Florida House were the most consequential two years of any legislature in America. And yet he didn't choose you to be the lieutenant governor. Don't interrupt me. Don't interrupt me. Because we had a Senate president who was much more moderate than me, and I'd take a bullet for her. She's a great lady, but much more moderate because we criticized in private and praised in public. And what I see here, Jay, look, we all appreciate your service, but what I'm questioning in your temperament tonight is your judgment. And so you have to be able to work with everyone. And we worked in united conservatives when I was Speaker of the House in ways that you can only pretend you have done in your 36 months in office. And so at the end of the day, you want somebody who truly is not just, and I respect your service immensely, but that's not alone a reason to make you governor. And I've outlined, look, I've been my own business owner. I've been a prosecutor. But that's not a reason to be your next governor because I've been the most successful Speaker of the House, which is really the number two position behind the governor because you're controlling a budget, balancing the budget. I'm the only one on the stage that's balanced a budget. Byron Donald certainly has not. And so you can come in here, but at the end of the day, you know that in six months, you've not gotten the governor's endorsement. All that you're consigned to right now is being a ribbon cutter because that's the only constitutional authority you have as Lieutenant Governor. All right, so let me get to the next question. This was a good back and forth where the audience gets to decide for themselves as you went through this. Thank you for working on this with this one. Let me get to the next topic in regard to hurricane preparedness. Under Governor DeSantis, Florida became a leader in hurricane response when the Sanibel Causeway was destroyed in October of 2022. A temporary bridge opened in 15 days and full rebuilding took just over two years, setting a new benchmark for state emergency response. As governor, what investments or changes will you make to keep Florida the national model for disaster response? Paul, I'll come to you first. Well, look, in the military, we train over and over again. And the best preparation for a crisis or an emergency is your time in the military. And so I've led that training. And again, you practice over and over again so that when the crisis comes, you act. You act immediately without another thought. And that's what you have to do during hurricanes as well. I don't think, and you can go back in time, we've had a great series of governors that have done a great job. Ron DeSantis certainly stands at the top of that. And so it's several things. First of all, you have to make sure that you protect the rights and freedoms of every Floridian so that in a hurricane, you're not being told that you can't transport your weapons, for example, from one place to evacuate. These kinds of things. And Governor DeSantis did that very clearly during COVID, which was one of the most important things and one of the worst civil liberties infringement as a crisis in American history. And I will never let that happen or anything like that happen on my watch, no matter what the crisis is. But with respect to hurricane response, I would give you four things. One is a risk assessment. You need to know the severity of the risk, the locality in the case of a hurricane. And then you need resources. You need resources for first responders. And I would be asking our local emergency operations centers what they need to respond to that crisis. And then secondly, our third thing, our third, rather, is communication. A good leader communicates, and that's both to the people that are on the ground working the problem, but also to the public, to warn them of danger that is real, but also reassure them that things are under control. Again, you want somebody who's had a lifetime of being battle-tested that can handle the worst thing that comes our way and finally express that calm in a storm. Thank you, Paul. James, 60 seconds. Governor DeSantis said it best when he said that the only time the average Floridian even cares who's the governor is before and after a hurricane. My grandmother, who taught English here at Plantation High School in Broward County for 20 years, she always taught me that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We need to surge resources into communities before a storm hits. Use both the Florida National Guard, but also the Florida State Guard. I'm going to be campaigning for Amendment 1 that's going to increase the size of our roads, of our Rainy Day Fund, and I'm going to make sure that FEMA, which was found out in the last two years to deny hurricane relief to those who had Trump flags in their lawn, that is illegal discrimination. We will stand up to anyone who gets in the way of keeping our people safe after a storm. Thank you. Jay? Yeah, so Governor Ron DeSantis has clearly been the leader in the clubhouse when it comes to disaster response. We know he's been incredible. You know, we had over 50,000 power trucks lined up after a. Helene and Milton. It's pretty incredible to see that. You know, that consequential leadership, his ability to say, look, that bridge isn't going to take four months. It's going to take three days. And to get it done is incredible. But what we have to do, and Paul, I think you hit on something that was interesting, is a comms plan. You have to have a PACE plan, a Primary Alternate Contingency, an emergency plan that's in place where people can scaffold that and make sure that in a multi-jurisdictional, multi-county situation, you can actually communicate. And work through that. Number two is clarity of training. We have to make sure that more training is pushed down. Many of the cities and counties have part-time or short-staff emergency management. We've got to make sure they get more information quicker to help make that work for them. And the last piece is this, guys. We all talk about it. You have to get the supplies, the food, the things on the ground quicker. We're going to have to continue to build out what Governor Ron DeSantis has started and have an echeloned approach to where our things are going to be. That's what our things are around the state. That works. That plan has always worked. And we're going to continue to move forward on those things. Thank you, Jay. Thank you, Jay. Next question was shared with us by Sarah Adams, former CIA targeter. She asked this question on Twitter. Hostile foreign governments are using universities to gain influence through research, money, and partnerships. What will you do to eliminate foreign influence from Florida's colleges and universities? I'll take it, because I've already called for no professors, no students from any country, foreign area of concern, such as China. We let China in several years ago in these Confucius Institutes, and this is just classic academia. They stole our research because our own professors are collaborating with them on things that belong with the Department of War, that belong to the CIA, and so no Chinese students, no Chinese professors. We need to completely remove, and Jay and I worked together on the bill to stop any purchase, from the CCP of land in Florida, whether it's farmland or military land. I think that bill can probably go farther, but that was a good bill that we worked on together. And we need to make sure, because this is a real threat. China's not the only one, but they certainly are the major one. And so shutting them off from the spigot of research that's happening in our public universities is job one. Actually, James, I'll come to you next. It's very simple. Florida colleges are paid for by the Florida taxpayers. Why, then, are there thousands of foreign students taking up admission spots, taking up spots in a chemistry, history, or engineering class from one of the kids in our state, a kid from Hernando County, Collier County, Lee County, Osceola, Orange, Broward, Dade, or Palm Beach? Why? We must end foreign students who are practically spies in many of our universities. I will do that as governor by raising the tuition on any foreign student to $1 million a year. When they can't pay, they can't come. And when they can't come, our kids are back in our universities, training, being motivated and educated to write the next great chapter of history right here in Florida. Thank you, James. Chase? You know, when I joined the Army, the most exciting thing that was going on was fusion, a utilization and a better standardization of local, state, and federal assets. It's good government, government working together. You also have to bring in your university system for that. You have to make sure that, operations, training, you have to make sure that communication, cyber, intelligence are all there. We have to have clear communication, better threat understanding, better connectedness within all of those assets. So our people at the leadership level understand that. And then you have to do exactly what Governor Ron DeSantis has done and hold those people accountable. But look, where do we go from there? The simple truth is this. We all see the risk of foreign influence. We all know what, what that looks like and what it means. Yes, Paul, you and I did a great, that was a great bill. And we had to stand strong on banning China. But it was also the countries of concern. It wasn't just the CCP. It was other countries that couldn't buy real property. We have to call it what it is. And we have to protect our people. And we have to arm them with the facts. One of the things I would love to do as governor is sit down and have a conversation with the people of Florida. You know, in a world where Twitter is always moving, Facebook, Instagram, all of that, it's just spinning like a power meter, right? What can we do? You remember when the president would sit there and have a conversation with America? We have to address these things as governor. We have to sit down and have that conversation with the people of Florida, share the facts, share the details, and share that vision of where this is going to go. And then we have to hold them accountable when they don't follow the laws. That is the DeSantis way. Communication is the critical conduit of all of that. Thank you. Well, you know, on the topic of. the topic of education, you know, there's a lot of things that Florida gets right. One of the areas that we have to improve as a state is education. Federal data shows Florida public schools rank second in the nation for fourth grade math. But by eighth grade, we dropped to 41st. And when it comes on to SAT scores in America, we're at 48th place out of 50 states. The average SAT score in Florida is 948. What specific changes will you make to address education shortfalls in Florida? Paul, I'll come to you first again. Well, I'll start by resetting the standards of what constitutes an A. Right now, it's far too low. It needs to be at 90%. I think it's at 60% or something. So we need to raise the bar. And with a new governor, I think it's the right time to do that to continue to challenge our kids to greater excellence. And we need to make sure, as I did when I was speaker, to get the indoctrination out of our schools, teach reading, math, science, civics, make a high school diploma matter again by the time you walk across the stage, and the fact that we're seeing at least the positive signs, but seeing that drop off means to me that we're cluttering the educational experience with too many things that don't go to teaching the core basics of education. That's what a high school diploma ought to deliver so that you can walk off the stage and get a meaningful job. I will be committed to that again, running a Florida first agenda to make sure that we have vocational and technical training along with that math. And so we have to do all of those things. Another thing I would point, too, Patrick, is the schools of education must be reformed. And by reformed, I mean, frankly, brought down, demolished, basically, and rebuilt from the ground up. Because we see very weak academics in the schools of education. We see a ton of indoctrination. So a teacher walks in really excited. She loves math. She wants to teach math. And they become basically weaponized for the left. We see this over and over again. So we have to have significant reform of the schools of education and focus on the schools of education. And we have to have significant reform of the schools of education and focus more on the subject area, not spending four years how to teach, but four years about how to be a great math teacher. Thank you, Paul. Thank you. Thank you. James. Take your average high school student here in Florida and ask them three questions. Pull them out of class and ask them to point which way the Pacific Ocean is. Number two, ask them to recite the first and second amendments of the U.S. Constitution. And number three, have them walk into a Starbucks, get by the door, and ask them to recite the first and second amendments of the U.S. Constitution. And number four, have them sit behind the counter. Someone pays 50 bucks. Have them make change. Genuinely, honestly, how many kids, even at the top high schools in our state, could answer all three of those questions? Maybe, maybe, Patrick, it has something to do with the fact that if Elon Musk came down and wanted to teach a high school physics course, he would be barred from doing so because the radical teachers unions will not let people from other fields come to teach. There is an entire, an entire group of Elon Musk's, engineers, mathematicians, scientists, history buffs who want to come into our public schools and educate and motivate our kids, and they can't. But the other fact is that we've got to pay the best teachers more. Now, most teachers I know, they wake up early, they stay late, they dig into their own pockets for school supplies and lunch money. The teachers need a raise if they're doing what is expected of them. And you do that, and you do that, Patrick, for the very simple reason that a business is nothing without its employees. I'm the only business owner on the stage, and I can tell you this. When you want to retain and recruit the best employees at an investment firm, at a restaurant, or even at a school, you've got to pay them more. But to the parents out there who want not to go to the public school route, I will always defend your right that Governor DeSantis and the First Lady fought for. The Step Up program is going to the next level. I call it Step Up Squared. Here's how it works. Number one, if you have a kid here in Broward or Dade County, and they're spending $15,000 a year, the school district on your kid, and you pull them out, you're going to get the full $15,000. Number two, number two, we are going to empower our homeschool families and allow them to access the same exact extracurriculars, debate team, the rest of it, so they can participate in the same way. Let's not forget Tim Tebow was a homeschool kid who competed on a public high school team, and I'm going to defend the next generation of homeschoolers to do the same. Number three, if you have a kid here in Broward or Dade County, and they're spending $15,000 a year, the school district on your kid, and you pull them out, you're going to get the full $15,000. Number four, if you have a kid here in Broward or Dade County, and they're spending $15,000 a year, the school district on your kid, and you pull them out, you're going to get the full $15,000. Number five, if you have a kid here in Broward or Dade County, and they're spending $15,000 a year, the school district on your kid, and you pull them out, you're going to get the full $15,000. Number six, if you have a kid here in Broward or Dade County, and they're spending $15,000 a year, the school district on your kid, and you pull them out, you're going to get the full $15,000. Number seven, if you have a kid here in Broward or Dade County, and they're spending $15,000 a year, the school district on your kid, and you pull them out, you're going to get the full $15,000. Number eight, if you have a kid here in Broward or Dade County, and they're spending $15,000 a year, the school district on your kid, and you pull them out, you're going to get the full $15,000. Number nine, if you have a kid here in Broward or Dade County, and they're spending $15,000 a year, the school district on your kid, and you pull them out, you're going to get the full $15,000. Number 10, if you have a kid here in Broward or Dade County, and they're spending $15,000 a year, the school district on your kid, and you pull them out, you're going to get the full $15,000. Number 11, if you have a kid here in Broward or Dade County, and they're spending $15,000 a year, the school district on your kid, and you pull them out, you're going to get the full $15,000. Number 12, if you have a kid here in Broward or Dade County, and they're spending $15,000 a year, the school district on your kid, and you pull them out, you're going to get the full $15,000. Dr. Sanchez this week said, you should be able to sit for the bar exam, read the bar exam without having to go to law school. And I agree. There are dozens of occupations in our state where you shouldn't have to jump through all of these bureaucratic hoops, have to prove yourself. You prove yourself in the open market. That's what radical capitalists do. And I'm proud to be one. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Let's play this game. If we want to bring those paddles up to everybody, thumbs up, thumbs down. We'll go through 20 different issues. And on some of them, if you guys defer, we may go a little bit deeper. So you got them. Everybody has one. So green, thumbs up, red, thumbs down. Can you show it to the audience so they can see? So thumbs up, thumbs down. Okay. So I'll state an issue and you tell me if it's thumbs up or thumbs down. Eliminate property tax. Easy. Require e-verify for every employer. Legalize recreational marijuana. Expand school choice and vouchers. Raise public schools' teachers' pay, which could lead to additional state spending. Okay. You were a little bit hesitant there, Jay. Are you still sticking to thumbs up? I was listening to the whole question and making sure. Okay. That's my English. Forgive my English. Ban cell phones during school day in K-12. All right. Expand nuclear energy. Build more toll roads to reduce traffic congestion. Okay. Let's stay on that. Jay, you put thumbs up. You guys put thumbs down. James, why don't you go first? Why are you thumbs down? I don't think we need to turn Florida into a concrete jungle. I don't think we need to keep building, building, building. I grew up going to the Everglades fishing with my dad and uncle, and I can tell you this state is perfect just the way that she is. What I want to do for Florida conservation is I want to tackle the FWC head on. You got corrupt commissioners there who are not fighting for conservation. I'll remove them using my Article 4 Section 7 powers. But on toll roads in particular, why is it that the Turnpike was built 50 years ago and we're still paying for a road that we were told we were only going to pay for it to be built? And here's the fact. If you're a Florida resident, you should not have to pay to drive on our roads. Patrick, here's my commitment to the voters of Florida. As governor, I will eliminate all tolls for Florida residents. Paul, you also had thumbs down. I just want to tell you how we're going to pay for it. Because at a time when communists like Zoran Mamdani are trying to steal money, here's how you're going to pay for it. Make the purse. Ma'am, respectfully, this is my show. You're interrupting. Next time, I will ask you to leave. You've done this since standard time. One more time, I will ask him to leave. Please respect the audience here. You're the only one that's doing it, and I'm being respectful to you. I'm very tolerant, but you've crossed the line. For the people watching at home, that's Jay Collins' wife. The other two wives are well-behaved. No, it's not Jay Collins' wife. It's not Jay Collins' wife, but please continue. So how do we pay for it? We pay for it by charging the tourists more. 140 million tourists drive on our roads every single year. Charge them a buck or two more so we don't have to pay to drive on our roads anymore. Okay, thank you. Paul? Well, this is very similar to what we did when I was speaker with Governor DeSantis, which is to give discounts to Florida residents. And to James's point, that is a way to, much like my property tax proposal, I am shifting the burden of taxation away from those who make Florida home to those who vacation here and speculate here. And I think that is a good direction to go. The reason I got the red paddle is, like, I can't tell you we're never going to have a toll road, but that's not the first place I would go. And so I think it makes sense to give relief to our residents who, especially frequent commuters, who are spending hundreds of dollars a month to get to their job and, again, dealing with costs that are out of the world right now. So it would give them a little bit of a break. We did that for a period of time to try to bring those costs down, and we can look at doing that again. Okay, thank you, Paul. And Jay, you put thumbs up. Why did you put thumbs up? Yeah, so if you listen to what Paul said, he said that wouldn't be his go-to. You need to have a medium here, because the fact is this. We have 23 and a half million people. We have 8 to 1,200 people a day that have been moving here for ages. We've got to have a multifaceted approach that's realistic and moves people where they need to go. That's investing in things like AAM or eVTOL aircraft, which we as a state have done. We're going to be an industry leader in that. Paving more roads, making sure that people get where they want to. But if you want to pay for a toll, you want to pay a toll to move a little bit quicker, I think you have to give that option. But the fact is this, and I think we all three agree on this. The way the tolls work, the way the debt is managed, that's a problem. But it's not just turning it off. You can't just turn that thing off. It's going to take time to eliminate the bonds. That is something we should all be united on to solve that problem and eventually end that. But right now with our system, I think you've got to get people off the roads. And get people moving faster. Have you been around Miami? We got stuck there for a while. And you know what we did when I was speaker and with the governor? We paid down some of our state debt that Jay's alluding to ahead of schedule. And so, Byron Donalds, if you're watching, you never did that in the federal government. I can promise you that. Okay. So, let's go to the next one. All right. So, we have 12 more to go through. Again, if you want to grab your paddles, because we're going back to the game with the paddles. Here we go. Require high schoolers to take a financial literacy course before graduation. Okay. That's easy. Womack saves lives. Tax incentive for young families. Oh, sorry. So, your thumbs down, your thumbs up. What kind of, here's my problem with the green and red is, what do you mean by tax incentives? You mean subsidies? Tax incentives. So, let's just say he's about to make the announcement that he's having a kid, right? Let's just say that announcement's being made. Making an incentive for folks that are just starting out their families, because right now the birth rate is 1.58. So, people are worried about having kids because it's expensive. Okay. I've already done tax incentives, in that respect. So, you are. So, your thumbs up. I'm a green now. So, your thumbs up. I am. And your thumbs down. No, actually, that's the same question. Okay, beautiful. So, subsidies are frightening. Once you start subsidies long term, we have a problem we're chasing. So, your thumbs up, don't do it, or thumbs up, do it? No, I'm actually green on this. You have to incentivize young families. All right. That's good. Fantastic. Just a quick question. Can we just do a quick thumbs up, thumbs down? Who would do paid maternity leave for working moms in Florida? Go for it. I didn't hear James. Paid maternity leave for working moms in Florida. Paid maternity leave from the state government? From the taxpayers? I'm just curious. That's a fair question. Would you be thumbs up or thumbs down? Look, here's what I'll say, because the problem with this is that not everything's a thumbs up or thumbs down as a governor. What I will say, and where I agree with James on this, is we have to make sure that our population is not continuing to decline. This is happening worldwide. So, we do have to look for ways, and what I was referring to earlier is we eliminated the sales tax on baby diapers, baby wipes, baby strollers, to make sure that as a pro-life party, we're pro-life. We're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. Yeah. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. Okay. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. And we're pro-life. But we have a pretty robust bright future. So you would keep it the way it is? I would keep it the way it is. Are you thumbs up or would you? Keep it the way it is. I'm a thumbs up on this. I think you have to keep it the way it is, but you have to expand this out to a couple of other areas. How would you expand it? Look, I want to see more movement in trades. I want to say that we have to put our money where our mouth is and stop making people feel like those in the trades are a second-class citizen. Guys, the average tradesman is 58 years old. We've got to fill those things. If you eat food or you go to the bathroom, guys, you should be very worried about how that works. I want to make sure there's more opportunity, more scholarships available for those kids. Excellence has to be what we aim for in all things, to include the trades, entrepreneurship, and, yes, regular academic success. We need to do more. James. I agree. We need to expand the Bright Futures program, but we have to take a bigger look at our colleges here in Florida. I want Florida colleges to look more like Hillsdale and less like Berkeley. We need kids studying science, technology. We need kids studying engineering, math, American history. We don't want kids to be trained to be activists on either side. We don't want CRT or DEI in our universities, and so I would want to expand the program. and eliminating certain majors so that taxpayer money isn't used for kids to learn about. Patrick, do you mind? Sure. I'm actually, this isn't something we're going to say very often. I agree with him on part of this. Look, here's the thing. This is a miracle, folks. You've got to take your economy and align it with your education system, with the university, the state schools, and your high schools. You've got to create tunnels of excellence where they're interconnected, where you make sure that you're projecting out on a 1, 3, 5, and 10-year basis real jobs, real opportunities that make a difference in their lives. People want to live the American dream, and that means letting them know with transparency what those opportunities look like as they move forward. That's what we should be doing, and I think that's exactly what I was talking about. And Patrick, just for equal time on vocational training, I agree with Jay. Paul, I'm going to move forward because I need to go to the guest three questions. Please, I've given you plenty of time. Some would even say I've given you more time than the other two. Let me continue. Require government spending to be searchable online. Absolutely. I would do it via the radical transparency. Everybody agree. 100%. Expand vocational training at public schools. 100%. Okay, easy. Offer tax credits to businesses that hire veterans. You're thinking. Why are you thinking? Do you want to take a second? I mean, you're in this business. This is what you do. Would you create an incentive? You're asking to expand what we already have? Whatever you have right now. We have a ton of benefits for veterans. They're well-deserved. So your thumbs down, you're happy with what's out there right now. I'm happy with what we're doing. I think we have the most veteran-friendly state in America. We're going to keep it that way. So you would say to change and upgrade, what we have will be a thumbs down to you? I don't know that there's a place for an upgrade. I mean, I think we need to encourage our veterans and work, but I don't know that we need an upgrade. All right. So let's say this, Patrick. The idle mind is the devil's playground. And what I fear is that so many of our brave veterans who come back from war, that they are reliant. They're reliving that PTSD by staring at the ceiling. They don't have an access to a job or an opportunity. And so what I would fight for is for every single vet to not just have a job in the private sector, but if you can't get a job there, let's open up internships. This is a very strange thing. Two vets said no. One non-vet said yes. So let me ask Jay Collins. Jay, what would you say? So look, I don't think that's the approach. But what I do think is we have to step up and do more. Look, the VA simply is too bloated, too bureaucratic, and there's too many problems. We have to make sure that we hold them accountable. I would love to press the federal government. I would love to press the federal government to shift how the VA works, number one. Number two, we have to go find. You know there are 700,000 veterans who have no connection to the VA in the state of Florida? We're going to have to do what I call Operation Reveille. We're going to work with nonprofits, churches, local organizations, and leaders to bring them in and make sure they get the benefits. But the third thing here is very simple. We've got to make sure that when they transition, we as a state don't leave them behind. We have to work with nonprofits, public-private partnerships to make that work and make sure they have that transition. We have to transition into a real life. Can I comment on where I would spend money? Yeah. So when I did spend money, so at University of South Florida, we're spending right now $28 million for a study into hyperbaric oxygen treatment to cure a traumatic brain injury. Because we know, and Jay knows very well, we have a lot of veterans that have traumatic brain injury. It's difficult for them to get out and take a job. And so getting them right-sized is very, very important. This idea that we're going to let the VA give drugs to our veterans for the rest of their life is reprehensible. We need to look for alternative treatments that actually cure the brain. I believe this hyperbaric oxygen treatment study will bear fruit. It will be very exciting for all of our veterans as well as anybody else that has a TBI. Beautiful. Thank you. Let me get to the next one. So require able-bodied adults receiving public benefits to meet work or training requirements. Fantastic. Fully ban Chinese nationals from buying land in Florida. And last but not least here, prioritize farmland over residential development. Okay, thank you for that. Paul, I'm going to come to you for this next question, and we're going to go to the audience for two questions, and then we'll wrap it up. We are almost at the end. So one of the topics that a lot of people in the comments section are asking about is flock cameras. I don't know if you're familiar with the flock cameras, so we'll talk about that. Florida police now uses thousands of flock safety cameras. By the way, one of them is literally 100 yards away from this building, which are part of a 100,000-camera national network originally used to read license plates. The system now uses AI hardware. With that, it prepares for facial recognition. Police say it solves violent crimes, finds missing children, and tracks stolen cars instantly. However, civil liberties groups and residents worry about privacy. What is your stance on expanding AI surveillance networks in Florida? Paul? Well, I will stand in front of a moving train to stop the surveillance state from developing here in the state of Florida and protect civil liberties. And here's what I'll tell you. As an intelligence officer in Afghanistan, you see things that we can't talk about, but you see our capacity to go. You go after bad guys, and you think that's great that we can take care of the bad guys, but the problem is what happens if that same technology is turned against us? And so we always have to be vigilant. You know, we fought a revolution for a reason to not have an overarching surveilling government over our backs and in our homes and on the streets. And so it's one thing if you have a camera that can be deployed to capture a missing child that has been kidnapped in the moment, in the hour. In the minutes right after it's happened to stop a death, right? It's quite another thing to let that data go and be held for a week, a month, a year, be taken into AI in crunch. And so truly you have a surveillance state akin to the Chinese government that is possible. I'm not saying it's happening today or that our police officers aren't doing the right thing today, but the point is how far do we want to go in the name of security before we lose our freedom? And as once a person, I think, I think it's a great question. As Benjamin Franklin famously said, if we give up our security or give up our freedom for security, we will get neither and deserve neither. Thank you, Paul. Thank you. Okay, 60 seconds. Jake. All right, look, number one, this whole discussion is why AI has to be a state-level issue. It shouldn't be in control of the federal government. We have to empower our governors in our local states to do that. Number two, look, the reality of flock cameras is we do pull criminals. We do pull murderers off that. But, Paul, what you're talking about is those. You cannot afford to have the third-party information, the third-party organizations grab that information and hold that there. We have to secure that in-house. We have to make sure that's locked inside our organizations and controlled. But, Paul, what you said in the final line on this is that an AI surveillance state is a horrifying, frightening thing. I believe in our men and women of law enforcement. I have talked to all of our sheriffs, our local police, and I will tell you they are unified that flock does make a difference. It does save lives. And it keeps our people safe. And they are owed the time, tools, and training necessary to complete their mission and get back to their families. But they're also held accountable if that thing goes wrong or if it's misused. But we have to make sure we keep that data here in our state. Thank you, Jay. James? As governor, you will always get a yes or no answer out of me. If elected the 47th governor, I would ban all flock and palantir systems in Florida. I would ban all the schools in Florida. the same dollar signs, interests the same special interests that are funding Byron Donald's campaign we need leaders who will put the citizens of Florida first and not big tech thank you so stay let's go to the audience we have two questions can you do we have in front of my cuz I can't see all we do please state your name and your question I'm gonna turn on the mic Jake let's try it one more time you want to test this mic out maybe it's this one day have on let's check this one out go for it we can hear you the mic went out now Jake I know you can hear it I want the audience to also hear do you want to try it one more time Jake or try to hold it closer to your mouth I don't know okay much better there go for it this episode is brought to you by PayPal you know how a mom's bag has everything sunscreen snacks a stapler the new PayPal app is like that but for your money shop pay manage your account and earn rewards all in one place and with purchase protection on eligible items biometrics security and pass keys you're protected at every step download the new PayPal app to get started see paypal.com slash protection terms when you need to build up your team to handle the growing chaos at work use indeed sponsor jobs it gives your job post the boost it needs to be seen and helps reach people with the right skills certifications and more spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit at indeed.com slash podcast that's indeed.com slash podcast terms and conditions apply need a hiring hero this is a job for indeed sponsored jobs chronic migraine is 15 or more headache days a month each lasting four hours or more Botox on a botulinum toxin a prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine before they start it's not for those with 14 or fewer headache days a month it prevents on average eight to nine headache days a month versus six to seven for placebo we're not for those with chronic migraine or chronic migraine but for those with chronic migraine or chronic migraine or chronic migraine or chronic migraine symptoms alert your doctor right away as difficulty swallowing speaking breathing eye problems or muscle weakness can be signs of a life-threatening condition patients with these conditions before injection are at highest risk side effects may include allergic reactions neck and injection site pain fatigue and headache allergic reactions can include rash welts asthma symptoms and dizziness don't receive Botox if there's a skin infection tell your doctor your medical history muscle or nerve conditions including ALS Lou Gehrig's disease myasthenia and heart disease and heart disease and heart disease and myasthenia gravis or Lambert Eaton syndrome and medications including botulinum toxins as these may increase the risk of serious side effects why wait ask your doctor visit Botox chronic migraine calm or call 1-800-44 Botox to learn more when you shop Kroger delivery you can expect the savings you love and fresh groceries delivered right to your door our refrigerated trucks keep your items fresh while our associates are committed to getting every detail right carefully selecting and packing your order with care because bringing you fresh quality groceries is what we do best and right now enjoy $20 off your first online order of $75 or more restrictions apply see site for details Kroger fresh for everyone this episode is brought to you by TXU energy for the first time ever Texans have an energy plan that combines free nights all year with daytime summer savings it's called free nights and cool summer you get free nights every night all year long plus a 25% bonus toward your daytime use all summer it's a first-of-its-kind plan created for how Texans actually use energy discover how much more you could save with free nights and cool summer TX you energy energy for everything visit TX you calm for more information rep number one zero zero zero four you you Remove restrictions for young entrepreneurs in the state of Florida. 30 seconds each. Go for it. Sure, I'll go first. We have regulations. Look, regulators, what do they do? They regulate. And so if you leave them to their own devices, they will continue to regulate and regulate. We have regulations that are on the books probably from the 60s and 70s. So we need to do a better job. You hear about zero-based budgeting. I like to see zero-based regulation and tear it down to its bare minimum and only have regulations that go to health and safety. Businesses need reliable rules. They need to just know what the rules are. And as long as they know that and as long as they're low, which they typically are in Florida but not always, then you can prosper. But I hear all the time when it comes to other states that they do it better in other states where there's not the kind of simplicity that we need to give to businesses because all of that effort, all of that time, all the bodies you have to put on that regulation cost money. That money then gets passed along to your consumers or reduces your profits. And for all those reasons, we have to have, whether it's a one-in, two-out, or how about a zero-in, three-out of regulatory effort. When we look at the Tax and Budget Commission, Byron has kind of sloughed off the whole property tax debate and said, I'll send it to the commission. This would be something for them to talk about. But quite frankly, we know where we need to go, and we can look at this in partnership with the FID to make sure we're getting rid of every regulation that doesn't truly protect a life or has a true safety component, not just to regulate to regulate. Jay, 30 seconds, please. Yeah, look, I think you're going to hear a lot of the same thing from everybody here. Deregulation is critical. I think we have to go through all of our statute over a four-year span and understand the second, third, and fourth order effects of all of it, clarify everything that we have to. Number two, we've got to make sure that we have Live Florida, which is a model that helps our business owners understand where everything's at. It's very hard sometimes to get critical data. That has to be an extension of commerce. And the third piece is this. I want to have radical transparency. I want to have transparency for everything that the government does. I want to have a dashboard-based system. I want to make sure that we are an ROI-driven enterprise. If things are going to be put out in the government, it has to be clear. It has to be given there and easy to access. And that's why Live Florida is such a critical thing. It empowers people to make choices. Thank you, James. Is this something that's personally affected you? Myself and my brothers just recently relocated from Wisconsin to Florida. Your present chief? Chris Kearns with you. That's right. So, we felt Wisconsin and we'd like to have a governor in the state of Florida that is a champion of entrepreneurs. Well, as a young Florida entrepreneur myself who started a business at 21, let me tell you right now that we need to do whatever it takes to inspire the next generation of businesses here and it will be enough. Here's how you do it. Number one, we need someone who's going to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, who's going to work for you. I'm going to appoint a small business commissioner. The first time it's ever been done in Florida history. And their job is to answer your calls, emails, meet with entrepreneurs from Miami to Jacksonville, Jacksonville to Pensacola and understand what you guys need. We're going to roll out the red carpet. If you want to come here and you want to hire and you want to build things and you want to write the next great chapter of American history in Florida, you are going to have a friend in me. Beautiful. Thank you, James. All right. So, we are coming to the end. Each candidate, 90 seconds. Final thoughts before we wrap it up. Paul, I'll start off with you, please. Closing? Closing statements, yes. You got it. You got it. Well, listen, I've spent my entire life as a battle-tested leader. And when I led the legislature, conservatives won every battle. But ultimately, this race is not about any candidate. It's about every Floridian, which is why we've been leaning into a Florida First agenda from day one. And what that means is we're going to stand up for every man, woman, and child that calls Florida home. That really calls Florida home. And in some ways, Florida. Florida's become a victim of our own success. With all the people moving in, we've seen the price of things skyrocket. I recently met with a woman by the name of Peggy. And she and her husband were public school teachers on fixed income. And they were contemplating, after 30 years making Florida their home, of leaving our state because they cannot afford the taxes, the insurance, the electric rates. And the situation for young people is very similar. I met with Megan in Miami, and she had just bought her first home, something I want to see happen when I'm governor. But she was paying two to three times what the other residents in her area were paying in property taxes because the way of our property taxes is structured. And so, we need good leaders who listen. And I've been doing that to build out a Florida First agenda with our contract with Florida. I suggest you take a look at it at voterenner.com. And what we're going to do is make sure we eliminate property taxes for those who need it most. Cut insurance rates by 20%. And lower electric rates. We will ban. The state-level hyperscale data centers, period, full stop. We will stop public corruption and inhuman trafficking. We will make sure that we are a gold standard for election integrity and also stand up for parental rights in the Second Amendment. And we will stop and reform our AI Bill of Rights that is just as strong or stronger than what was put up in this last special session. Thank you, Paul. Thank you, Paul. Thank you. Make some noise for Paul. Thank you. Thank you. Jake. What we're discussing here is the American dream. We are the greatest nation in the history of this planet. We live in the greatest state among the 50. We should all wake up grateful every single day to be a citizen of these United States of America. in living here in the great state of Florida. Friends, we can never allow the American dream to be diminished or broken down. We can't allow the next generation to have less than we do today. We have to fight for the future of this great state and this great nation. Like many veterans, I would do everything and anything to serve our state and nation again, even if it came down to the cost of the last full measure of devotion. We love that nation that much. But friends, this election is the time for choosing. We can choose to go the easy method and allow Byron Donalds to pick who's going to be the next governor and just say that it's over. Or we can do as Florida has always done and stand strong and vote for people that inspire us, that make a difference in our community and want to earn their vote. Friends, this state matters. Have you looked around the world? There is no place like America. There's no place like Florida. If we are not leading and we are not the conservative proving grounds of America, who is going to step up? Not now, not ever will we ever let the American dream diminish. And in Florida, under my watch, friends, we'll leave it better than we got it. We'll make sure that our children have every opportunity to live their life, live their dreams, and imagine things that we can't even comprehend right now. But more than anything else, my hope and prayer, is that as you move forward, you know that in the free state of Florida, we will honor your individual liberties, your rights, your freedoms, and we know that you make a choice and you have a voice. Make some noise. Thank you, Jay. Thank you. Thank you. All right. James Fishback, 90 seconds. Close in thoughts, please. Thank you, Patrick, for hosting us. Thank you, Jay and Paul. I know we saw some fireworks tonight. It's because all three men on this stage love this state. Thank you. And love our country. I want to speak directly to the voters who are watching from home. Thank you for tuning in to tonight's important debate. This election is not about the who. This election is about the what. What vision for Florida do you want? I'm going to stand up and ban data centers. I'm going to fight for our citrus growers and our cattle ranchers. I'm going to stand up for your First Amendment right and your Second Amendment right, because I'm a principled conservative. Nowadays, people say they're principled. And I don't mean conservatives, but ask them, where do they draw their principles from? Me, I draw them from two places, the US Constitution and the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I believe what we need right now is a revival in this state. I visited all 67 counties. And even though I'm the highest polling person on this stage, if I haven't heard from you, I want to hear from you tonight. My personal email is [email protected]. Send me an email, and I guarantee you're going to hear back from me. We need someone. As the sun sets on Governor DeSantis' incredible eight years, we need someone to stare down the new challenges on the horizon. And I'm asking you for the honor of a lifetime to do that for you, your family, and the state that we love. Thank you, James. Make some noise. Let me do the following, folks. If you're watching this, this entire thing was for you, especially the Florida audience. Whoever you'd like to support, we have intentionally put their links to their website below. Go show your vote by supporting these individuals. Remember, we want Byron Donalds on this stage. I think there's like 50-something days left. In order for that to happen, they need your support. Go show your support to whichever candidate this was. And the discussion is still continuing on X. #VTDebate would love to hear from you. The audience, you were amazing. You ended up doing very good at the last 50 minutes. Thank you for that. For all of you, we have a guest that came from every state. Every single one of the different camps. We have a book called "Future Looks Bright" with the Florida sign on the side. That's a gift for everybody for showing up. God bless everybody. Take care. Bye bye. Bye bye. Thank you. , @Kroger, your points add up to more ways to save every trip. 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