Republican mocked for scheme to campaign to women through his Tinder profile

Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback unveiled an unorthodox campaign strategy on Monday: take his candidacy onto Tinder.

Fishback, a 31-year-old hedge fund manager challenging President Donald Trump's endorsed candidate Rep. Byron Donalds for the Republican nomination, posted to X his plans to campaign through the dating site: "I’ve joined @Tinder to meet young female voters where they are, and share my plan to make it easier for them to get married, buy a home, and raise a family."

He accompanied this with a screenshot of his profile, which said under "My hottest take is..." "Florida should offer paid maternity leave to all moms."

This move earned him a wave of mockery from commenters on social media — many of whom pointed out it might not be the best idea to use his love life in the campaign, given he has faced accusations of pursuing underage women.

"Given his history of alleged underage relationships, I’m curious if @Tinder’s terms of service allows him to be on the platform at all…" wrote Florida political strategist Michael Worley.

"Let's hope Tinder's age verification is up for the task," wrote the Project Liberal account.

"James was upset when he learned that they set the minimum age at 18 tho," said Democratic National Committee youth official Matt Royer.

This comes as Fishback faces widespread criticism for his overtly racist remarks. He has claimed that Donalds, who is Black, "wants to turn Florida into a Section 8 ghetto," and publicly fantasized about former CNN anchor Don Lemon being lynched.

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