TAMPA, Fla. – James Judge, the Republican nominee for Florida’s 14th Congressional District, is scheduled to hold a press conference at 10:00 a.m. Thursday to address allegations of criminal misconduct by his opponent, Congresswoman Kathy Castor (D-FL).
During the press conference, Judge will discuss what he knows about the Tampa Police criminal investigation into Castor, who allegedly entered the early voting polling place at Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library illegally in Tampa last week. After entering the polling place, Castor was subsequently removed by election workers, according to a report filed by a clerk with the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office.
According to the internal complaint filed by the clerk, Castor reportedly violated the 150-foot exclusion zone, which is mandated by law and prohibits candidates and campaign officials from campaigning at polling locations. Not only did she allegedly violate the exclusion zone, she actually entered the building, according to the report.
An excerpt from Florida Statute 102.031 – Maintenance of good order at polls; authorities; persons allowed in polling rooms and early voting areas; unlawful solicitation of voters.—
“This is absolutely crazy. She should know better, and as a Congresswoman for the better part of two decades, I have to imagine she does know better,” said Judge. “This appears like a clearcut example of ‘rules for thee and not for me,’ which we have seen play out time-and-time again under the Castor regime.”
According to Florida Statute 104.0615, it is a felony in the third degree to “coerce or compel an individual to vote or refrain from voting,” and also to “coerce or intimidate or compel an individual to vote or refrain from voting for a particular individual.”
“I believe if these allegations are accurate, this ought to be a relatively open-and-shut case. I mean, it’s not every day that a criminal hosts a news conference about a crime they just reportedly committed,” Judge said. “According to Kathy Castor herself when she was speaking to news outlets on-camera in front of the place she reportedly broke the law, she actually says that the very reason she was present at Platt Library that day was to coerce people to vote.”
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, 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 at 813.279.8335 or by emailing news@judgepr.com.
