Jay Collins lost his leg in combat and re-qualified as a Green Beret on a prosthetic limb.
Now the people drawing six-figure taxpayer salaries inside Ron DeSantis' office are running a smear campaign against him.
And DeSantis himself won't say a single word about it.
The Attack Coming From Inside the Building
Christina Pushaw – a senior DeSantis communications advisor pulling nearly $180,000 a year from Florida taxpayers – went public on social media accusing Collins of making threatening remarks about a former policy staffer named Taryn Fenske.
The allegation: that Collins made disparaging comments about Fenske at a Florida State football game last fall, angry she wasn't leveraging DeSantis donor relationships to help his campaign.
No evidence.
No recording.
No witnesses stepping forward by name.
Just a political operative with a history of going rogue in this very primary – firing accusations in public and leaving the target to defend himself in the "court of public opinion."
https://twitter.com/IAPolls2022/status/2077775310603379006?s=20
Collins didn't flinch.
"Those are factless, baseless claims," he said. "No threats were made. I would never do that."
Then he said something that stopped the room.
"I protected our people my entire life,” he said. “I would stand in front of people who want to do harm, even to people I don't like. That's the simple fact. I'm a warrior, I'm a protector."
He knows what a real threat looks like – and it doesn't come from a sideline conversation at a football game.
Pushaw Has Done This Before
What makes this worse is that it isn't the first time Pushaw has inserted herself into this governor's race and lit a match.
Earlier this year, it came out that she had spent months informally advising gubernatorial candidate James Fishback – participating in campaign events and offering strategic guidance while drawing a state paycheck.
When the relationship collapsed, Pushaw went public and torched Fishback on social media.
The Floridian called the whole episode a "complete dumpster fire."
Now she's turned that same fire on Collins – a different candidate, the same playbook.
Collins noted the timing was suspicious – all of this surfacing at exactly the moment his numbers started moving.
He's right that he's getting traction.
A Collins internal poll from July 6 had Byron Donalds at 37.5% and Collins climbing to 20.2% – with more than 28% of Republican primary voters still undecided.
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An independent Tyson Group poll from July 11 put Donalds higher at 48% and Collins at 9%.
The gap is real.
But so is the momentum – and somebody in Tallahassee clearly noticed.
DeSantis Built This Man. Now He's Silent.
Here's the part that should make every Florida Republican furious.
DeSantis didn't just know Jay Collins.
He built him.
DeSantis pulled Collins out of a congressional race in 2021 and personally recruited him to run for State Senate in Tampa's District 14.
Collins won by ten points.
DeSantis called him "a patriot who has dedicated his life to serving our country."
Then in August 2025, DeSantis appointed Collins lieutenant governor – the second-highest office in Florida – and introduced him to the state as "the Chuck Norris of Florida politics."
DeSantis chose him. Every step of the way.
And now, with DeSantis' own communications staff running what looks like an organized operation against his hand-picked number two, the Governor has gone completely silent.
Florida Politics asked for comment from the Governor's office.
None came.
Collins asked DeSantis directly what's going on.
His answer: "I would ask the Governor what's going on there."
Collins was careful to protect the man who isn't protecting him.
"He's the greatest Governor in our state's history," Collins said. "And I think it's a shame for sideshow antics like this to try to diminish what that man has done."
A combat veteran – a man who bled for this country and came back to serve it again – is standing in front of cameras defending the boss who won't defend him.
DeSantis doesn't have to endorse Collins.
But he absolutely has a responsibility to answer for what his own people are doing on his payroll.
Sources:
- A.G. Gancarski, "'Sideshow antics': Jay Collins rebuts claims of conflict with Ron DeSantis' staff," Florida Politics, July 16, 2026.
- "Donalds Leads But Collins Surges: The Ground Is Shifting In Florida's Governor Race," Tampa Free Press, July 2026.
- "DeSantis Aide Christina Pushaw Cuts Ties With Gubernatorial Candidate James Fishback," VINnews, January 19, 2026.
- "(POLL) Byron Donalds Bulldozing Republican Opponents in Governor's Race," The Floridian, July 13, 2026.
- Jacob Ogles, "Ron DeSantis allies say Jay Collins' wife is running burner accounts critical of the Governor," Florida Politics, July 2026.
- "Ron DeSantis selects Jay Collins to serve as lieutenant governor of Florida," Florida Phoenix, August 2025.
