Former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker endorsed James Judge for Congress on Monday. In the last week, Judge also earned the endorsements of the Florida Police Benevolent Association and Senator Rick Scott.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker, who was extremely popular with bi-partisan support during his tenure and once called “America’s best mayor” by the Daily Beast, endorsed James Judge for Congress, the Judge campaign announced Monday.
Judge is running an energetic, grassroots campaign to represent the cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg in the U.S. House of Representatives and to replace liberal Democrat Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), who has been in office since 2006.
“James Judge understands that the average American is suffering under the results of the current Democrat Party leadership – high inflation, plunging retirement savings, rampant crime in our cities, and open borders,” said Baker. “He is committed to bringing conservative leadership to Congress – his first vote will be to remove Nancy Pelosi from the Speaker’s chair.”
Baker served as mayor of St. Petersburg from 2001 until 2010. During his tenure, Baker was named America’s Mayor/Public Official of the Year by Governing Magazine, and in 2011, was recognized as “America’s greatest mayor of the decade” by Newsweek Magazine’s Daily Beast.
“I am beyond grateful for Mayor Baker’s endorsement and his support. I look forward to his wise counsel once I am elected,” said Judge. “It is time for Tampa Bay area voters to put an end to the Castor regime’s reign, so we can refund our police, get tough on crime, and lower gas prices back to where they were when Republicans were in charge. I look forward to serving the people of my hometown and representing them in the U.S. House of Representatives.”
Judge squares off with Castor in the Nov. 8 general election.
Judge has also been endorsed by several additional 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 inquires, please contact the campaign’s PR firm at 813.279.8335 or by emailing news@judgepr.com.
