The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is seizing on recent polling to argue that Republicans’ effort to redraw Florida’s 14th Congressional District may be backfiring.
The DCCC branded the new district a “dummymander” after a St. Pete Polls survey found Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor leading the top Republican contenders. Castor led former state Rep. Mike Beltran 46% to 38% and state Rep. Kevin Steele 46% to 39%.
“Republicans thought they could rig the game and hand themselves this seat. Instead, their dummymander is blowing up in their faces. Tampa voters are sticking with Kathy Castor because she delivers and is the fighter Floridians deserve. She’s on track to continue serving them in Congress this November,” DCCC spokesperson Anna Elsasser said in a press release.
The findings come after redistricting efforts split apart pieces of the Democratic-leaning district into several other Republican leaning districts, giving the GOP a more competitive voter base on paper. But Castor’s long tenure and name recognition may provide her an advantage over GOP candidates.
While Castor is the only Democrat in the race, Republicans must first settle an eight-candidate Primary — where Beltran leads Steele 30% to 18%, according to the poll.
The GOP field includes Beltran and Steele, as well as Wall Street professional Michael Marcel, business owner John Peters, retired Navy Capt. Robert “Rocky” Rochford, businessman and Army veteran Gavriel E. Soriano, hospitality manager Ergin “Batman” Tek, and former congressional aide Bea Valenti.
Brian Lambert has filed as a Libertarian Party of Florida candidate, while Salomon Hernandez Sr. and Keith Varian have qualified as write-in candidates.
Polling still shows Castor remains below the 50% threshold in both matchups, with 15% to 16% of voters undecided. The General Election survey had a 4.5-percentage-point margin of error.
The GOP Primary is Aug. 18, with the winner advancing to the Nov. 3 General Election to face Castor.
