The Republican nominee for Florida’s 14th Congressional District has called on his Democrat opponent to debate him since Sept. 12.
TAMPA, Fla. – Today marks the 45th day that Democrat incumbent Kathy Castor has refused to debate James Judge, the Republican nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida’s 14th Congressional District, the Judge campaign said in news release Friday.
“We had hoped that Castor would honor her promise to debate before early voting began, but she has yet again failed to demonstrate the qualities of a respectable leader by breaking another promise and reenforcing a widespread understanding that her word has zero credibility,” said Judge. “The real loss here is that Tampa Bay area voters have been denied the opportunity to hear from their elected representative, which demonstrates her absolute and total lack of accountability.”
According to sources inside Tampa Bay area media outlets, Castor and her communications director, Rikki Miller, have outright refused to respond to requests from the media for information about a potential debate.
Judge had challenged Castor to square off with him in a public debate before early voting began on Oct. 24 and even offered to allow Castor to choose the venue, day and time.
One venue has already offered to host the debate. La Teresita, the popular Tampa Cuban restaurant, has offered to provide their venue free of charge.
On Aug. 23, Judge won his primary election by 24 points, despite being outspent 10-to-one by his closest competitor.
Judge has earned the endorsement of several prominent figures and organizations.
They include:
- Senator Rick Scott (R-FL)
- Congressman Brian Mast (R-FL)
- Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ)
- Congressman Ted Yoho (R-FL) retired
- Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard
- Florida Police Benevolent Association
- Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri
- The Tampa Police Benevolent Association
- Pinellas County Sheriff Jim Coats (retired)
- Associated Builders and Contractors Florida Gulf Coast
- The Community Patriots Tampa
- Republican strategist Roger Stone
- Chris Chambers, former Congressional candidate and community leader
- Matt Becker, small business owner, former SBA White House Deputy Chief, and former Congressional Candidate
About James Judge:
Judge, a Tampa Bay area native, is the Republican nominee for Florida’s 14th Congressional District. Judge graduated from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg and was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom while serving in the U.S. Coast Guard. Additionally, he served in Kabul, Afghanistan as a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Defense from 2010 until 2011 under General David Petraeus. He now owns Judge Public Relations, a Tampa-based PR firm and marketing agency with clients worldwide.
Judge is married to his wife Danielle, who is also a small business owner in Hillsborough County. 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 National Rifle Association, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Tampa Propeller Club and the Coastal Conservation Association. The Judges are also long-time, active members of Idlewild Baptist Church in Tampa.
For media-related inquiries, please contact the campaign PR firm by emailing news@judgepr.com or by calling 813.279.8335.
