TAMPA, Fla. – Congresswoman Kathy Castor (D-FL) appears to have been caught misleading the Tampa Bay area community on Thursday after being asked by Tampa media outlets about her illegal entry into a Tampa polling station.
Castor, who is under criminal investigation by detectives from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, had a representative respond to Tampa media outlets with a statement claiming that she was there to vote.
“Last week Congresswoman Castor encouraged the press and voters to join her at the Jan Platt library to encourage voters to take advantage of the convenience of early voting,” the Castor statement read. “Unfortunately, she did not have what she needed at the time to vote, and like any voter who enters a polling place and does not have what they need, she exited.”
The problem for Castor is that the statement above is in direct contradiction to a statement written last week by a clerk from the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office.
According to the incident report documented by the clerk, Castor was asked multiple times if she was there to vote, and Castor said she was not. Instead, Castor said she was there to persuade people to vote, which if true, would be a third-degree felony under Florida law.
The incident report filed by the clerk from the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office.
“The lack of accountability and outright disrespect towards the public and the members of the media who tried to follow up on this story is astonishing,” said Judge. “Castor’s team is trying to make this about me and her, but I’m not the one making the allegation. The reality is that this is between the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections and Representative Castor. Either the clerk lied, or Castor lied – someone is not telling the truth, and I have to believe that Castor is the one who is not telling the truth here, as the clerk had no incentive to be dishonest.”
What is even more frustrating for Judge is the lack of coverage by Tampa Bay area media outlets.
“We literally have a sitting member of Congress, who is under felony criminal investigation, who is now trying to mislead the public about why she was at the polling station, and most of the Tampa Bay area media outlets have been silent about this, including the Tampa Bay Times, who endorsed this alleged felon,” said Judge. “I hope that the media will see through her lies and dishonesty and begin to shed light on this important development as Election Day draws near.”
Judge squares off with Castor in the Nov. 8 general election.
Unlike Castor, Judge has been endorsed by 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
- Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker (retired)
- 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, 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 his wife Danielle, who is the founder and owner of Rowdy’s Pet Resort, a dog daycare boarding facility near Apollo Beach. 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.
For media-related inquiries, please contact the campaign’s PR firm at 813.279.8335 or by emailing news@judgepr.com.
