Florida Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins defended his legislative record and criticized rival Byron Donalds during a virtual press conference following the latest gubernatorial debate.

Criticism of Byron Donalds

Collins directed his sharpest commentary toward U.S. Representative Byron Donalds, who did not participate in the debate. Collins argued that skipping debates disregards the electorate and called on Donalds’ supporters to push their candidate to debate.

Collins also compared the current race to Governor Ron DeSantis’ initial 2018 run, noting that DeSantis did not have all the endorsements or financial support at the time.

Policy Focus

A central policy focus of the briefing was the expansion of massive technology infrastructure. Collins expressed severe reservations about the strain of hyperscaler data centers on local resources, advocating for local transparency and state-level enforcement.

Collins also addressed a lawsuit challenging James Fishback’s eligibility based on Florida’s constitutional residency guidelines, arguing that current state law places an undue burden on rival campaigns to police ballot qualifications.

Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.