State Rep. Kevin Steele, a Pasco County Republican, will run for Florida’s 14th Congressional District, seeking to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor after mid-decade redistricting made her previously safe district more competitive for Republicans.
Under the new map, which is being challenged in court, CD 14 shifts southeast and becomes considerably more favorable to Republicans. Under the new lines, almost 55% of voters supported Donald Trump for President while just 44% supported Democrat Kamala Harris.
Steele blasted Castor for her long tenure in Congress, touting the fact that she will now have to face a difficult campaign after representing a reliably Democratic district for nearly two decades.
“For nearly twenty years, Kathy Castor has sat comfortably in Washington while Tampa families have struggled with rising costs, shrinking opportunities, and failed leadership,” Steele said.
“She voted for the reckless policies that drove up prices, hurt small businesses, weakened our economy, and made the American Dream harder to reach for Tampa Bay’s families. It’s time to term limit Kathy Castor and send someone to Congress who understands what it means to work, sacrifice, and fight for every opportunity.”
Steele’s announcement means he will no longer seek re-election to his current seat in House District 55, which may feel to some in the Pasco-based district as a bit of whiplash. It was only two months ago that Steele jumped back into his re-election fight. Before that, he had been running for Chief Financial Officer, allegedly at the urging of some Trump administration officials.
Redistricting set off an immediate scramble across the state as Republicans made decisions about where to run — or whether to run — under the new map. Just this week, former White House staffer Bea Valenti, who worked as a domestic policy advisor to U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, announced she would also run in Castor’s district. And the same day, former state Rep. Mike Beltran said he was considering running, and was prepared to spend $1 million to do it.
But as the wealthiest member of the Florida House, Steele will have the resources to wage an expensive campaign himself. Steele is a retired tech executive whose financial disclosure forms list his net worth at more than $152 million.
He had already put $5 million of his own money into running for CFO.
