Republicans Mike Beltran, Kevin Steele enter GOP primary in Florida’s CD 14

Among the Democratic congressional seats that Florida Republicans aim to capture with their recently passed congressional redistricting map is the 14th Congressional District in Hillsborough County, which has been held by Kathy Castor for nearly 20 years.

The newly approved map written by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office shifts her seat from being one that voted for Kamala Harris by more than 7% in 2024 to a Donald Trump +10% district.

On Friday, two Florida Republicans entered the race. Pasco County state Rep. Kevin Steele and former Hillsborough County Rep. Mike Beltran, who served in Florida House from 2018-2024.

Of the two, Steele actually doesn’t live in the district. But in his press release announcing his candidacy, he said he was born in Tampa and attended Hillsborough Community College and USF.

“For nearly twenty years, Kathy Castor has sat comfortably in Washington while Tampa families have struggled with rising costs, shrinking opportunities, and failed leadership,” he said in a press release.

“She voted for the reckless policies that drove up prices, hurt small businesses, weakened our economy, and made the American Dream harder to reach for Tampa Bay’s families. It’s time to term limit Kathy Castor and send someone to Congress who understand what it means to work, sacrifice, and fight for every opportunity.”

A  retired tech executive, Steele reported his net worth at more than $152 million in his 2025 financial disclosure forms. He filed to challenge Blaise Ingoglia for CFO last fall but dropped out of the contest in February.

Mike Beltran is a Brooklyn native who lives in Riverview, which is within the district. He was in Washington, D.C., last week speaking with GOP officials about his candidacy.

He’s strongly anti-abortion and pro-Second Amendment, but he also offered an independent voice at times during his tenure in Tallahassee, such as voting against Gov. Ron DeSantis’ budget one year.

“The budget growth from when I was elected to when I left the Legislature was double digit growth, and it’s frankly unacceptable,” he told the Phoenix in a phone conversation.

He says Castor has been a “henchwoman” for Nancy Pelosi and now Hakeem Jeffries in the House.

“Hakeem Jeffries has declared war on Florida,” Beltran said. “He said he’s going to bring ‘maximum warfare’ to Florida, and I’m the Brooklyn boy who’s going to stop him.”

Jeffries blasted DeSantis before Florida legislative Republicans approved his redistricted congressional map and, like other Democrats, says it’s unconstitutional under Florida law.

Blue wave?

Both Beltran and Steele were among the minority of Florida House Republicans who endorsed Donald Trump over Ron DeSantis ahead of the 2024 presidential campaign (although Steele did so after he originally endorsed the governor).

Beltran noted that distinction in the press release he issued Monday: “Beltran is one of only seven Republican legislators in the entire state of Florida who never endorsed Ron DeSantis for President.”

Beltran announced that he is putting $1 million of his own money into his campaign. Steele put $5 million into his own campaign for CFO earlier this year before leaving that race.

Others could get into the contest before qualifying ends on June 12. Among those who have been rumored to be considering a candidacy is Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, a Republican who insists he is set on running for governor.

Collins entered the political arena in 2021 by challenging Castor in what was then an extremely Democratic-leaning seat. He dropped out of that race after he was recruited by DeSantis to instead run in Florida Senate District 14; he defeated then-Democratic incumbent Janet Cruz by nearly 10 percentage points.

Castor announced days after the new map was approved that she intends to run for re-election for the seat that now features more registered Republicans than she’s had to face since her first election to Congress in 2006.

Some analysts say that despite the fact the district now leans strongly Republican, Castor could be successful if a Democratic blue wave emerges based on the unpopularity of Trump’s policies and behavior in office. Beltran doesn’t believe it.

“It’s not a swing district on paper,” he said. “Everyone’s talking about, ‘Oh, the cycle,’ this and that. But I’m going to work my ass off. Basically every campaign comes down to district, cycle, and candidate quality. I think at least two of those are on my side.”