TAMPA, Fla. – The State of Florida wrongfully disqualified James Judge, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida’s 14th Congressional District, according to a lawsuit filed in Tallahassee on Monday.
Like all other candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives, Judge was required to complete two items, which included submitting a candidate oath and a check for $10,440.
According to the complaint, Judge submitted the required documents more than two full days before the required deadline, and the state reviewed, accepted and qualified Judge based on the paperwork he provided. Judge was the first Republican candidate qualified by the state of Florida in the race.
Furthermore, according to the complaint, it would appear that Judge is actually the only candidate in the 14th Congressional District to follow the instructions provided by the state of Florida in a memo dated May 17, 2022, instructing candidates for U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives to file the “Candidate Oath for State Offices” form.
“There are only two items a candidate is required to do, and that is submit a check and submit an oath, and James did both of those items, specifying exactly the correct seat he was running for,” said Peter Graves, general consultant for James Judge for Congress.
The state of Florida contends, however, that Judge submitted the wrong form by turning in a Candidate Oath for State Offices form, when it should have allegedly been a Candidate Oath for Federal Offices form.
“The only difference between these two forms is that James took the added step of also swearing to uphold the laws of the state of Florida in addition to the U.S. Constitution,” said Graves. “I believe the court will rule in our favor, however, it must happen quickly as overseas ballots are set to go to print soon.”
In addition to arguing that the state provided conflicting information about which form to file, the complaint also points out that the state of Florida violated the law by not affording Judge the opportunity to correct the paperwork before the deadline.
“If he had submitting something that was improper, the state is required by law to let him know of any mistakes before the filing deadline and provide him the opportunity to cure any such mistake, and they made no such effort,” said Graves. “Instead, they called him five days after the deadline and told them of their mistakes and said he had no recourse. That’s just unacceptable.”
The challenge comes at a time when the Judge campaign has gained immense momentum with several major local endorsements in the past two months. Just last week, Tampa Police endorsed Judge as their preferred candidate through the Tampa Police Benevolent Association. Additionally, Congressman Ted Yoho (retired 2021), Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard, and former SBA White House Deputy Chief Matt Becker, who previously ran for Congress against an incumbent Democrat in St. Petersburg, have all endorsed Judge for Congress.
About James Judge:
Judge, who publicly announced his run for Congress earlier this year, is the only Tampa Bay area native running in the race, having been born in Clearwater, Florida. Judge graduated from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg and served in the U.S. Coast Guard in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Additionally, he served in Kabul, Afghanistan as a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Defense from 2010 until 2011. He now owns Judge Public Relations, a Tampa-based PR firm and marketing agency with clients worldwide.
Judge is married to Danielle, who is the founder and owner of a dog daycare boarding facility in the Tampa Bay area. The Judges are avid animal lovers and together, they have four dogs, three cats, two horses and 10 chickens. Judge is a proud member of the NRA, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. The Judges are also active members at Idlewild Baptist Church in Tampa.
