Kathy Castor

Castor won the November general election, 70% to 30%, becoming the first woman to represent the Tampa Bay area in Congress and only the third person to represent this Tampa-based district since its creation in 1963 (it was the 10th district from 1963 to 1967, the 6th from 1967 to 1973, the 7th from 1973 to 1993, the 11th from 1993 to 2013, and has been the 14th since 2013).

Castor was reelected, 71% to 29%, in a rematch with Adams.

Katherine Anne Castor (born August 20, 1966) is an American politician and lawyer currently representing Florida's 14th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, serving since 2007.

Castor was raised in Tampa and graduated from Chamberlain High School in 1984.

She holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Emory University (1988) and a J.D. from Florida State University College of Law (1991).

She is a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority.

It was the best showing for a Republican in this district since 1994.

Castor served on the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners from 2002 to 2006.

Her primary focus was on health care.

She worked to stop seniors and other patients in Hillsborough County's health care plan from being forced into HMOs.

Her mother, Betty Castor (née Elizabeth Bowe), is a former University of South Florida president, a former Hillsborough County commissioner, a former Florida state senator, a former Florida education commissioner, and a 2004 U.S. Senate candidate.

She was first elected to the House in 2006 and has been reelected seven times.

Castor was born in Miami.

Since her first congressional campaign in 2006, Castor supported withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and redeployment of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

Her first committee assignment was the House Armed Services.

The district, numbered as the 11th district from 2007 to 2013, is based in Tampa.

A Democrat, Castor was a member of the Hillsborough County Commission.

The daughter of former Florida state senator, president of the University of South Florida, and Florida education commissioner Betty Castor, Kathy Castor was born in Miami and raised in Tampa.

She graduated from Emory College and the Florida State University College of Law.

After law school, Castor primarily worked in public administration law.

Castor defeated Republican nominee Mike Prendergast, a career military officer who retired in 2008 as a colonel in the United States Army, with 60% of the vote to Prendergast's 40%.

Castor was the only Democratic member of Congress from Florida to vote against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, also known as the "bailout bill," saying: "After thoughtful consideration and review, I voted against President Bush's $700 billion bailout. The Bush plan does not provide sufficient help to middle-class families in the housing squeeze or taxpayer protections."

Instead, she championed programs such as the Neighborhood Stabilization Program and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and said it was "the lifeline that really saved the economy."

In Tampa Bay, Recovery Act funds were invested in transportation, education, housing, research, law enforcement and various local infrastructure improvements.

The I-4/Crosstown Connector received the largest Recovery Act investment in Tampa Bay, with $105 million to make completion of the project possible.

After the 2010 census, Florida gained two more congressional seats.

Castor entered the race for what was then the 11th district when five-term incumbent Jim Davis chose to run for governor (he lost to Charlie Crist in November).

Castor won the September 5 Democratic primary—the real contest in what has long been the only safe Democratic district on Florida's Gulf Coast—defeating State Senator Les Miller, Al Fox, Scott Farrell, and Michael Steinberg.

She received 54% of the vote, a full 20 points ahead of Miller in the five-way race.

Eddie Adams Jr., an architect and former hospital laboratory technologist, was the only Republican to file.

Castor was endorsed by the pro-choice political action committee EMILY's List, the League of Conservation Voters, Oceans Champions, The Tampa Tribune, The St. Petersburg Times and The Bradenton Herald.

Her father, Donald F. Castor, was a Hillsborough County judge and died in April 2013.

As a result, Castor's district was renumbered the 14th.

It was no less Democratic than its predecessor, and Castor was reelected with 70.2% of the vote over Republican E. J. Otero.

No candidates filed to oppose Castor in the 2014 election.

It opened to the public in 2014.

Prendergast considered a rematch against Castor in 2016, but instead opted to run for sheriff of Citrus County.

Christine Quinn, the founder of My Family Seasonings, challenged Castor instead, running on a pro-business and anti-immigration platform.

A court-ordered redistricting cut out the district's share of St. Petersburg while pushing it further into Tampa, but it was no less Democratic than its predecessor, and Castor defeated Quinn with 61.79% of the vote to Quinn's 38.21%.

As of 2022, Castor had voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight.