A straw poll conducted by a Tampa Bay area-based chamber of commerce shows the Republican nominee, James Judge, winning November’s general election against incumbent Democrat, Rep. Kathy Castor.
TAMPA, Fla. – A new straw poll shows Republican underdog James Judge defeating incumbent Democrat Rep. Kathy Castor by a margin of five points in the race for Florida’s 14th Congressional District.
According to the poll, conducted by the Riverview Chamber of Commerce, Judge leads Castor by a margin of 52.63 percent to 47.37 percent.
The promising poll also reflects expected results in other Florida statewide races.
It shows Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) edging out challenger Rep. Val Demings (R-FL) by a margin of 51.28 percent to 46.15 percent, and Republican Laurel Lee handily defeating Democrat Alan Cohn in Florida’s newly redrawn 15th Congressional District.
Judge has been calling on Castor to debate for more than three weeks now, and on Wednesday, Castor agreed to a debate, but said to call her office to schedule it. On Thursday, Judge called Castor’s office as requested, but has not heard back yet.
“This straw poll reflects exactly what we are expecting on Nov. 8,” said Judge. “With inflation skyrocketing, gas prices on the rise again, the American people struggling to pay their bills and violent crime at all-time highs, it makes sense that they would want a complete overhaul in leadership in Congress.”
“Not to mention,” Judge said, “that under Democrat control, the federal government continues to spend money that we do not have, adding to our $31 trillion national debt and almost $200 trillion in unfunded liabilities. Democrats are going to bankrupt this country and cause hyperinflation, and we owe it to future generations stop them before it’s too late.
Judge also said that especially in Florida, Americans are seeing the first-hand ramifications of incompetent Democrat leadership in the federal government. He spent last week rescuing Americans stranded in the wreckage of Hurricane Ian with little support from the federal government in the crucial first days after the storm.
“People all across our state saw the lack of federal response to Hurricane Ian, and they’re rightfully disgusted by it,” said Judge. “Democrats like Rep. Castor, Nancy Pelosi and President Biden are focused on placating the far-left and are ignoring the vast majority of Americans in the middle who simply want to lead good, productive lives.”
Judge won his Aug. 23 primary election by 24 points, despite being outspent 10 to one by his closest competitor.
He recently earned the recommendation of the Tampa Bay Times and has been endorsed by several high-profile local and national figures.
Those figures include Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ), retired Republican Congressman Ted Yoho, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, The Tampa Police Benevolent Association, Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard, the Community Patriots Tampa, Chris Chambers, a former Congressional candidate and community leader, and former SBA White House Deputy Chief Matt Becker, who previously ran for Congress against an incumbent Democrat in St. Petersburg.
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 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 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 vote@judgeforcongress.com.
