A key advisor to Gov. Ron DeSantis spent months getting close to a candidate to replace him, but now regrets and repudiates the move, which reports were that she initiated months ago because she liked his spicy approach to conservative politics.
“In October 2025, I met James Fishback after he sent me a direct message on X. I appreciated his commentary on conservative politics and Florida. For two months, we spoke frequently, and I offered him advice on his gubernatorial campaign. I was never working for him, I never received any form of compensation, and I never informed the Governor of my communications with him,” said Christina Pushaw on Sunday night.
Pushaw, who reportedly earns $155,000 a year as a senior adviser to DeSantis, claims to have disagreed with Fishback’s rhetoric as it grew “more extreme over time.” Still, the specifics of her agreement and disagreement remain open in her posts.
Yet the extremism of Fishback’s views, which include repeatedly describing Rep. Byron Donalds using various racist tropes, wasn’t the deal-breaker.
Instead, it was Fishback allegedly trashing Pushaw behind her back.
“I had to cut ties with James Fishback because I learned that he had deceived me, violated my trust, and lied about me to numerous people in media and politics,” Pushaw says.
She says she never had a “romantic or sexual relationship” with Fishback, and that the candidate’s alleged stories about her allegedly are intended to distract from a a suspected investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement into him.
“Fishback has been spreading deeply personal, hurtful, and false rumors about me. He has claimed that we were romantically involved. He has even threatened to falsely accuse me of sexual harassment,” she says, calling Fishback “dangerous” and intent upon smearing her.
Pushaw says she apologizes to Donalds and to Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and his wife for having “coarsened the Primary campaign and made it more toxic than it needed to be,” though it’s unclear what an appropriate level of toxicity would be.
She also apologizes to Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis for “any embarrassment that my communication with James Fishback might ever bring on this office.”
“They had absolutely no idea and would never have condoned my communications with him,” Pushaw says.
Pushaw seems resigned to any consequences.
“I am fine with whatever fate awaits me. If this catastrophic error of judgement makes me unemployable, so be it. I made a mistake. I admitted to it. I want to make it right, and if that means never working in politics again, it’s a consequence I am ready to accept.”
Fishback’s meetings with people in DeSantis’ orbit have been a matter of intrigue, including a coffee with LG Collins last year while the Tampa Republican mulled running for Governor, and reported conversations with Taryn Fenske, another top aide.
Since coming to Tallahassee, Pushaw has been known for her combative tone toward the media and politicians with whom the Governor has disagreed. She has weathered myriad storms, including retroactive disclosure that she was a foreign agent before working for DeSantis.
Now we have a retroactive disclosure of involvement in a primary campaign from someone with a taxpayer-funded post, and it remains to be seen what will happen next.