TAMPA, Fla. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Congresswoman Kathy Castor (D-FL) illegally entered an early voting polling place in Tampa last week and was subsequently removed, according to a report filed with the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections.
The reported incident took place at Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library in South Tampa. Castor, who was not there to cast a vote, reportedly entered through the exit with a news media crew embedded with her campaign.
Castor violated the 150-foot exclusion zone, which prohibits candidates and campaign officials from campaigning at polling locations and is a violation of the law. Additionally, walking in through the exit is also in itself a violation of Florida election laws.
According to the complaints, she was present at the polling place for a campaign media opportunity on the first day of early voting, which aired later that day on local news outlets.
The polling center clerk, Jackie Weaver, reportedly intercepted Castor inside the polling station and escorted Castor and the news media outside, following the infraction.
According to the report, Weaver reported the alleged criminal activity to the Supervisor of Elections.
Castor was reportedly aware that she was in violation of the law, but simply did not care.
“We’ve seen this time and time again from Democrats like Castor, who believe they are above the law. This is nothing new. Throughout all of COVID, Democrats constantly instituted one set of standards for the public like requiring masks and banning indoor eating, and then were photographed in violation of the law. I have no doubt that very little, if anything, will happen as a result of the infraction. Unfortunately, the system is too broken to actually hold her accountable,” said James Judge, Castor’s opponent as the Republican nominee for Florida’s 14th Congressional District.
“Shockingly, this entire incident was reportedly documented by the media, and they reported nothing about it. This is precisely why I am running for office, to get rid of the double standards and hold the media and career politicians accountable for everything which they are responsible.”
In addition to the violations of Florida election laws, it is also questionable whether some local media outlets violated FCC regulations by covering only Castor’s campaign activities that day. By law, broadcast media outlets are required to provide equal airtime for opposing candidates. While one media outlet did interview Judge in accordance with the equal airtime law, multiple media outlets were reportedly present for Castor’s campaign event outside of the polling location.
Judge squares off with [Moms Demand Action Supporting] Castor in the Nov. 8th, 2022, 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
- St. 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 a 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; 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. Visit www.judgeforcongress.com .