Questions arise about Pasco state Rep. Kevin Steele’s run for Congress in Hillsborough County

Pasco County Republican state lawmaker Kevin Steele has emphasized his Hillsborough County roots since entering the race for the Republican nomination for Congressional District 14. That’s because the newly redrawn congressional seat is set exclusively in Hillsborough, far from the area he now represents in the Florida House of Representatives.

Federal law does not require a member of Congress to live in the district he or she represents. However, state law says a state lawmaker must live in the district he or she represents.

The CD 14 seat has been held for the past 20 years by Tampa Democrat Kathy Castor. But after it was redistricted from an area she won by 15 points in 2024 to one that Donald Trump won by more than 10 points that same year, Steele and seven other Republicans filed to run for the seat.

When asked by the Phoenix Tuesday night whether he intended to move from Pasco to Hillsborough if elected to the seat in November, he said he already lived in and had voted in the district. He posted a photo on social media Monday with members of his family at the Jan Platt Library in South Tampa, the first day of early voting in the county.

Records show Steele is registered to vote in Hillsborough County. However, he still has a homestead exemption at his Dade City home in Pasco County, where he serves as a state representative in District 55.

According to his most recent Form 6 financial disclosure filed July 1, under the description of assets, he lists his “Residence and Land” as the street address of his home in Dade City, but instead of Dade City he lists the city as Tampa. However, the street he lists as his residence does not exist in Tampa.

State law says House candidates or incumbents must live and be registered to vote in the districts in which they were running at the time of the election and maintain a residence in the district for the entire term to which they are elected. Lawmakers are allowed to own multiple homes but can only have one principal, or legal, residence.

Florida House rules also say they consider a lawmaker’s legal residence to be the one listed on official documents or mentioned in statements to others, voter registration records, homestead exemption paperwork, and a driver’s license; where a lawmaker receives mail; or where a spouse and minor children live and attend school.

Steele did not respond to a request for comment.