Upon graduation in 1994, Fant returned home and was elected to serve on the board of First Guaranty Bank, and he began managing the operations of the company in 2001.

[11] Fant began working with CenterState, which ended up as the owner of First Guaranty Bank, as a senior legal counsel and on the advisory board.

[12] Fant opposed the federal takeover of mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2008 stating that they would become a long term taxpayer burden.

[18] He faced attorney Paul Renner in the Republican primary, and both candidates agreed on the need to expand the Port of Jacksonville, to attract jobs to the state, and to provide more school choice to parents.

Fant also called for increased assistance and incentives to veterans, noting, "I have a proposal that would encourage vets, when they come back and retire from the military, to start their businesses in Florida, and they'll get some breaks on the licensing fees to do that.

[21] Ultimately, the primary contest proved to be close and hard-fought,[22] with Fant finishing just three votes ahead of Renner, prompting a manual recount.