Kathy Castor
Kathy Castor, an attorney and former Hillsborough County commissioner, has represented the Tampa-based 14th District since 2007. She chaired the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis (2019-2023) and sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee. She advanced to the 2026 general election without appearing on the Democratic primary ballot (Ballotpedia had listed Juan Arauz as a filer). The April 2026 map removed the district's cross-bay portion, leaving it entirely within eastern and southern Hillsborough County.
How they got on the ballot: Advanced without appearing on Aug 18, 2026 Democratic primary ballot (Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Florida%27s_14th_Congressional_District_election,_2026_(August_18_Democratic_primary) ; WUSF: https://www.wusf.org/politics-issues/2026-08-18/hillsborough-primary-results-2026-mike-beltran-wins-republican-nomination-florida-congressional-district-14)
Campaign finance (FEC filings through 10/14/2026): raised $4,930,537, spent $4,579,832, cash on hand $577,435; $3,078,538 from individual donors, $1,417,725 from PACs. FEC filings ↗
Sources last checked 2026-10-17. Report an error ↗
Positions on the major issues
Compare with opponents →Each entry describes what the candidate has said or done, and what they say they will do, in neutral terms with sources. The chip shows how that relates to the statement voters rate in the matching tool.
Taxes & spending Leans disagree· based on record
Castor voted against H.R. 1 (the 2025 reconciliation law), which paired extended tax cuts with reductions in projected Medicaid and SNAP spending. All House Democrats voted no.
Housing affordability Strongly agrees· stated position
Castor points to federal infrastructure funding she helped bring to the Tampa area, including $76 million to build and preserve affordable housing, supports the ROAD to Housing Act's limits on institutional investors buying single-family homes, and wants better disaster-relief housing funding.
Immigration Strongly disagrees· stated position
In the Oct. 2 debate Castor said she supports a strong border together with a pathway to citizenship for people who 'play by the rules and pay taxes and learn English,' and objected to Beltran describing errors by immigration agents as mistakes, citing two U.S. citizens killed by federal immigration agents.
"How can you call the murder of Alex Pretti and Renee Good mistakes?"
Abortion Strongly agrees· stated position
In the Oct. 2 WMNF radio debate Castor criticized Florida's six-week abortion ban and criticized Beltran for sponsoring a 2024 state bill that would have imposed a near-total ban and subjected health care providers to criminal penalties for performing an abortion for any reason other than to save the pregnant woman's life. She rejected Beltran's claim that a federal vote of hers amounted to supporting infanticide.
"No one believes that, Mike."
Guns Strongly agrees· based on record
Voted for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (2022), the federal gun-safety package that expanded background checks for buyers under 21 and funded red-flag law implementation.
Health care Strongly agrees· based on record
Voted against H.R. 1 (all House Democrats voted no); sponsors the Keep Kids Covered Act and voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, which extended ACA subsidies and allowed Medicare drug-price negotiation.
Social Security & Medicare Leans agree· based on record
Voted for the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), the 2024 law repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, raising benefits for some public-sector retirees.
Education & school choice Leans disagree· stated position
At the Oct. 16 Tampa Tiger Bay forum, Castor criticized Florida's voucher system and said private schools that receive public voucher money should meet the same accountability requirements as public schools. She did not call for ending vouchers.
"We're talking about public money. It should be subjected to the same accountability measures that happens in public schools."
Environment & water Strongly agrees· stated position
As chair of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis she released 'Solving the Climate Crisis,' a congressional action plan for a clean-energy economy and a 'healthy, resilient, and just America.'
Elections & voting Strongly agrees· based on record
Voted against the SAVE Act (H.R. 22), the 2025 bill requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote.
Crime & policing Leans disagree· based on record
Voted against the Protecting Our Nation's Capital Emergency Act (H.R. 2096), the 2025 bill repealing parts of the District of Columbia police-accountability law; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward tougher policing.
Gender identity laws Leans disagree· based on record
Voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (H.R. 28), the 2025 bill barring transgender girls and women from female school sports under Title IX; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward keeping restrictions in place.
Energy & utilities Strongly agrees· based on record
Voted for the Inflation Reduction Act's roughly $370 billion in clean-energy spending and sponsored the American Energy Efficiency Act and Advancing GETs Act (grid-enhancing technologies) in 2024.
No public position found on 4 issues
We searched campaign sites, questionnaires, interviews, votes and official actions and did not find a clear stance on: Tariffs & trade, Ukraine, Trump administration, Veterans. This is reported as unknown rather than guessed from party affiliation; these issues are excluded from this candidate's match score.
Other issues this candidate has raised
- Keep Kids Covered Act — Sponsors legislation to keep children continuously enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP coverage.Sources: Kathy Castor - Congress.gov
- PREVENT HPV Cancers Act of 2025 — Sponsors a bill to expand HPV vaccination and cancer-prevention efforts.Sources: Kathy Castor - Congress.gov
- ICE reform with guardrails — Called for reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement with protections against abuses.
- Grid modernization — Sponsored the Advancing GETs Act to encourage grid-enhancing technologies.Sources: Kathy Castor - Congress.gov
- Contraception access — Voted for the Right to Contraception Act.
- Child tax credit, energy incentives — Castor advocates progressive tax policy, supported the expanded child tax credit, and calls for expanding alternative-energy incentives.
- Agreement to two debates — Castor announced on Sept. 21 that she had agreed to a WMNF radio debate on Oct. 2 and a Tiger Bay forum at the Cuban Club on Oct. 16. Her campaign said her priority is meeting constituents and cited legislation she passed to protect families from further utility bill increases.
- Called the new congressional map illegal — In the Oct. 2 debate Castor called the mid-decade redistricting 'especially egregious and illegal,' pointing to the state constitutional amendment approved in 2010 that bars lawmakers from drawing districts to favor a political party, and said voters 'don't want politicians drawing their own maps, selecting their own voters.'
- Israel and the Palestinians — In the Oct. 2 debate Castor said Israel has the right to defend itself and that Israelis deserve to live in safety and stability, 'but the same goes for the Palestinian people.' She said she opposes settler violence under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and supports a Palestinian state, and rejected Beltran's claim that a vote for her is a vote for anti-Israel members of Congress.
- Third-quarter fundraising of more than $2.5 million — Castor's campaign said on Oct. 2 that she raised more than $2.5 million in the third quarter, more than her first six quarters of the cycle combined, pushing her cycle total past $4.5 million from 11,901 donors, with no self-funding. The campaign did not release a cash-on-hand figure; that comes with the Oct. 15 FEC report.
- Outside spending on her behalf — The DCCC put a negative television ad on the air on Oct. 1 attacking Beltran's Legislature votes on property insurance and rooftop solar, with Castor appearing in the disclaimer; EDF Action, the political arm of the Environmental Defense Fund, began a 30-second ad on Oct. 5 tying Beltran to President Trump's tariffs and foreign policy.
- Transgender athletes in women's sports — Asked at the Oct. 16 Tiger Bay forum whether transgender women should be allowed to compete in women's sports, Castor answered, 'The answer is no.'
- Forum remarks on costs, health care and property taxes — Castor said health-care costs and lost tax credits are hurting families, accused Republicans of cutting Medicaid to fund tax cuts, cautioned that property-tax cuts could affect police and fire services, and backed more federal involvement in mass transit.
- Former Pinellas nuclear plant workers — Castor said former Pinellas Plant workers seeking federal medical compensation deserve answers, a fair process and urgent action.
Record: votes, actions and documented facts
- Voted against H.R. 1, the 2025 reconciliation law (all House Democrats voted no).
- Voted against the Laken Riley Act (Jan. 2025) and its 2024 predecessor.
- Voted no on a 2026 extension of Department of Homeland Security funding.Sources: Kathy Castor news - castor.house.gov
- Voted for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (2022) and the Inflation Reduction Act (2022).Sources: Kathy Castor - Ballotpedia
- Chaired the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.Sources: Kathy Castor - Wikipedia
- Voted against the Laken Riley Act (S. 5), the 2025 law requiring federal detention of unauthorized immigrants charged with theft or violent crimes and letting states sue over immigration enforcement.
- Voted against the SAVE Act (H.R. 22), the 2025 bill requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote.
- Voted against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), the July 2025 budget law that made the 2017 tax cuts permanent and added new deductions while cutting Medicaid and food-assistance spending.
- Voted against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), the July 2025 budget law that added Medicaid work requirements and eligibility checks projected to reduce coverage.
- Voted against the Protecting American Energy Production Act (H.R. 26), the 2025 bill barring a presidential moratorium on hydraulic fracturing without an act of Congress; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward fossil-fuel production.
- Voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (H.R. 28), the 2025 bill barring transgender girls and women from female school sports under Title IX; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward keeping restrictions in place.
- Voted against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (H.R. 21), the 2025 bill setting criminal penalties for providers who fail to care for an infant born alive after an attempted abortion; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward more abortion restrictions.
- Voted against the Protecting Our Nation's Capital Emergency Act (H.R. 2096), the 2025 bill repealing parts of the District of Columbia police-accountability law; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward tougher policing.
- Voted for the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), the 2024 law repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, raising benefits for some public-sector retirees.
- Voted Yea on H.Con.Res. 93, a War Powers Resolution directing the President to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities with Iran (Roll Call 307, Sept. 15, 2026; agreed to 220-204).
- Voted Yea on the motion to table H.Res. 1486, a resolution impeaching President Trump (Roll Call 298, Sept. 15, 2026; tabled 232-147 with 47 voting present). A Yea vote set the resolution aside; a Nay vote would have kept it before the House.
- Voted Nay on H.J.Res. 210 and Nay on H.J.Res. 213, Congressional Review Act resolutions disapproving EPA authorizations of California's at-berth ocean-going vessel and commercial harbor craft diesel-emission rules (Roll Calls 306 and 311, Sept. 15-16, 2026; passed 216-211 and 214-208).
- Voted for a Republican-led resolution condemning 'socialism in all of its forms,' one of several Democrats to cross the aisle. Asked about it at the Oct. 2 debate she said: 'Too many of our neighbors across the Tampa Bay area fled socialism and authoritarianism, and I've listened very closely to their stories.'
- Voted in July 2026 against a proposed amendment that would have eliminated $3.3 billion in U.S. funding for Israel.
- Co-introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act, which would require states to consider standards making technology companies absorb the cost of energy-use increases from data centers; it passed the House 417-3 on Sept. 16, 2026 and has not received a Senate floor vote.
Endorsements (as reported)
- Tampa Bay Times (Gallaty and Brink both chose Castor)