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Kathy Castor
FL · District 14
In plain English: Represents Florida District 14 in the U.S. House of Representatives. House members vote on federal laws and spending.
Term
2007-01-04 – 2027-01-03
Next election
2026-11-03Cook Political Report rates FL-14 Toss-up (current through Oct 9, 2026); Republican challenger is former Florida state representative Mike Beltran; the 2026 mid-decade redistricting shifted the district from one Kamala Harris won by 7.6% in 2024 to one Donald Trump would have won by 10.5%, per Democratic data analyst Matt Isbell (cltampa.com, May 2026).
Running for
U.S. House (FL-14), re-election
Committees
House Committee on Energy and Commerce; Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Energy (Energy and Commerce); Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade (Energy and Commerce); Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (Energy and Commerce); House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party
Katherine Anne Castor (born Aug 20, 1966, Miami) has represented Florida's 14th Congressional District in the U.S. House since January 2007. Before Congress she served on the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners (2002-2006), where she focused on health care, and she holds a BA in political science from Emory University (1988) and a JD from Florida State University (1991). Her Tampa Bay-area district includes MacDill Air Force Base, home to U.S. Special Operations Command and U.S. Central Command, and has been made more competitive by the 2026 redistricting. She is Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and previously chaired the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.
Bio source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Castor
1. Follow the money, in plain English
What we don’t have yet: verified donor records for this leader. Pending donor data source: will be backfilled; never estimated
Every money claim on this page carries its source and its confidence level; the full item-by-item money record is in the evidence below.
2. What they promised
Each promise is tracked against documented votes and actions. A status is set only from the record; where a promise has not been tested yet, the card says so.
- PROMISEIn progress
"No matter how new districts are drawn, I will keep fighting for Tampa Bay families." (Said in response to the new Florida congressional map; she then filed for re-election in FL-14.)
- PROMISEIn progress
"I am committed to standing up for affordable health care and working families." (Date approximate, from the page's 'last updated' metadata, roughly Oct 2025.) Status so far: H.R. 4541, the EARLY Act Reauthorization on breast cancer education and awareness, which she introduced with five other members, passed the House on July 21, 2026. She was also a co-lead on H.R. 9699, introduced July 15, 2026, to require HHS to publicly disclose prescription drug pricing agreements, and on October 12, 2026, she said she is leading a bipartisan bill to expand access to low-dose CT lung cancer screening.
- PROMISEIn progress
[Paraphrase] Castor pledged support for "expanding the child tax credit to more low-income families," alongside a progressive tax policy and expanded alternative-energy incentives and childcare; she said, "The Child Tax Credit works" and that childhood poverty dropped dramatically under the American Rescue Plan's expanded CTC.
- PROMISEIn progress
"Together we can permanently protect these waters, our planet, our pocketbooks and our people from costly oil disasters and pollution." (Introducing the bipartisan Florida Coastal Protection Act, H.R. 2673, to permanently prohibit oil and natural gas exploration, development, and production off Florida's coast.)
3. The evidence
Everything on this page comes from the record below, grouped so you can find things: what they said, what they did, money and influence, and what happened after. Every item carries its date, its source, and the date we last verified it.
Open the full record ↓
What they said
- STATEMENT
"I am deeply committed to protecting the safety of American service members and civilians in the Middle East at a moment when the president has initiated a new war without authorization from Congress or the consent of the American people." (Excerpt; statement continues.)
- STATEMENT
"The United States Constitution is clear: Congress, not a president acting alone, is vested with the responsibility to make the grave decision to enter into war when there is no imminent threat to the nation." (Excerpt; issued after voting in favor of the bipartisan Iran War Powers Resolution.)
- STATEMENT
"President Trump and Congressional Republicans refuse to reform ICE to increase public safety after the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in the streets of Minneapolis... I cannot sanction taxpayer dollars being misused to brutalize U.S. citizens and immigrant families." (Excerpt.)
- STATEMENT
"H.R. 1689 would protect Haitian neighbors from Trump's mass deportation effort. Haitian TPS holders are valued members of our communities, working hard, paying taxes, raising families... I was proud to vote YES." (Excerpt.)
- STATEMENT
"Trump promised to lower prices. Instead, inflation is skyrocketing and wages are falling behind. Gas prices are up. Groceries cost more. Health care is under attack. And reckless tariffs and a war of choice with Iran are making life even more expensive for my neighbors."
- STATEMENT
"4 out of 5 Floridians are struggling to put food on the table. High gas prices, health coverage costs, and electric bills make it even worse. It isn't supposed to be this hard. You deserve better!"
- STATEMENT
"Electric bills are already sky-high, and Florida families shouldn't pay even more for increased energy demand from data centers. My bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act will hold Big Tech accountable for paying their fair share and protect your pocketbooks."
- STATEMENT
"Trump's lack of strategy and 'go-it-alone' approach in his war in Iran are costing Americans. I demand that the administration answer to Congress about their strategies and negotiations. My neighbors deserve answers."
- STATEMENT
"Standing with the survivors. The Epstein Transparency Act has passed the House and Senate, heading now to President Trump for signature so Americans can finally know the truth." (Nov 18: "The American people deserve the truth and I stand firmly with the brave survivors.")
- STATEMENT
"We need to bring some sanity back to our immigration laws so the people can work hard and get on the pathway to the American Dream rather than ripping the carpet out from under them and throwing them into detention centers when they don't have criminal records."
- FACT
Participated in the Tampa Tiger Bay Club candidate forum alongside Republican challenger Mike Beltran and candidates for FL-12 and FL-15; topics included rising health care costs, property insurance, school voucher funding, transit, and local impact of AI data centers. Full program airs the following week on the TBAE Network.
Verification note: Organizer social post; no transcript of her remarks located.
- STATEMENT
"Lung cancer takes the lives of too many Floridians every year. I'm leading a bipartisan bill to remove red tape and expand access to low-dose CT screening for our at-risk neighbors."
Verification note: Single-source aggregator; bill number not confirmed.
- STATEMENT
Asked whether biological males should compete in girls' sports, Castor answered: 'The answer is no,' with no elaboration.
Verification note: Coverage notes her 2023 and 2025 votes against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act; those votes are not in this profile's vote list, so the contrast is reported here as coverage, not as a profile vote fact.
What they did
- VOTE
H.R. 8800: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 Nay on On Passage (Roll Call Vote 278) (passed 216-212)
- VOTE
H.R. 7008: Stop Insider Trading Act (restricts members of Congress, spouses, and dependent children from trading individual stocks; bill also carried voter-ID provisions) Yea on On Passage (Roll Call Vote 280) (passed 232-198)
- VOTE
H.Con.Res. 89: Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran Yea on On Agreeing to the Resolution (Roll Call Vote 282) (passed 214-208)
- VOTE
H.Con.Res. 93: Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran Yea on On Agreeing to the Resolution (Roll Call Vote 307) (passed 220-204)
- VOTE
H.R. 4405: Epstein Files Transparency Act (requires DOJ to publicly release unclassified Epstein-related records within 30 days of enactment; became Public Law 119-38 on Nov 19, 2025) Yea (recorded as Aye on the 2/3 suspension vote) on On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass (Roll Call Vote 289) (passed 427-1)
- FACT
H.R. 4541, EARLY Act Reauthorization (Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young): bipartisan reauthorization introduced with Reps. Wasserman Schultz, Fitzpatrick, Miller-Meeks, Dingell, and Harshbarger; passed the House on July 21, 2026.
- FACT
H.R. 9340, Ratepayer Protection Act: lead original cosponsor with sponsor Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO); introduced June 18, 2026; requires state utility regulators to consider standards making large data-center loads pay for grid upgrades. Passed the House 417-3 on Sept 16, 2026; Senate motion to proceed withdrawn Sept 30, 2026.
- FACT
H.R. 9699, Drug Deal Disclosure Act (sponsor Rep. Judy Chu; Castor a co-lead): introduced July 15, 2026; would require HHS to publicly disclose the White House's prescription drug pricing agreements with pharmaceutical manufacturers and subject them to independent CBO/GAO review. Referred to Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Budget.
Money and influence
- DATA UNAVAILABLE
Pending donor data source: will be backfilled; never estimated
- FACT
Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy in the 119th Congress (identified as such in her office's July 24, 2026 grid-resilience release).
- FACT
Former Chair of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis (116th-117th Congresses); climate, clean air, and offshore-drilling opposition have been her signature issue since she entered Congress.
- FACT
Co-chair of five caucuses (Special Operations, Academic Medicine, Children's Health Care, Air Force, Congressional Soccer) and member of the Congressional Arts Caucus (per her office via Wikipedia).
- FACT
Her district includes MacDill Air Force Base, home to U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM); she is a regular advocate for MacDill service members, military family housing, and the base's school (castor.house.gov, 2024-2026).
What happened after
No outcomes recorded yet.
- FACT
Sept 25, 2026: the NRCC published a campaign report alleging Castor violated the STOCK Act in 2021 by disclosing June-July 2020 Berkshire Hathaway buys on July 27, 2021 (beyond the 45-day window), and claiming an ethics watchdog called for an investigation. Castor has dismissed the underlying insider-trading allegations as false. No formal House ethics committee action documented.
- FACT
Nov 2022: her then-opponent Eddy Judge claimed on Fox News (Tucker Carlson Tonight) that the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office was investigating Castor for electioneering inside a polling station. The allegation came from a political opponent; no confirmed investigation outcome was found.
Patterns in the record
War powers
Fifteen years of votes and statements on unauthorized U.S. military involvement, from Libya to Iran. Castor took office in January 2007, so she has no federal record from the 2001-2002 authorization votes. Every item is dated and sourced. Recent votes here also appear under How they voted; this section puts them in a longer timeline. The labeled analysis at the end is interpretation, not fact.
- VOTE
Voted Yea on H.Res. 292, declaring that the President shall not deploy, establish, or maintain U.S. ground forces in Libya (Roll No. 411). The House passed it 268-145.
- VOTE
Voted Yea on the McKeon amendment (H.Amdt. 1141 to H.J.Res. 124) authorizing the Defense Department to train and equip vetted Syrian opposition forces fighting ISIL. The House agreed to it 273-156 (Roll No. 507).
- VOTE
Voted Yea on H.J.Res. 37, directing the removal of U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities in Yemen not authorized by Congress. The House passed it 248-177.
- STATEMENT
"I am deeply committed to protecting the safety of American service members and civilians in the Middle East at a moment when the president has initiated a new war without authorization from Congress or the consent of the American people."
- VOTE
Voted Yea on H.Con.Res. 89, directing the President under the War Powers Resolution to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran. The House passed it 214-208 (Roll Call Vote 282).
- VOTE
Voted Yea on H.Con.Res. 93, a second Iran war-powers resolution. The House passed it 220-204 (Roll Call Vote 307).
AnalysisWhat the pattern suggests
- Castor's record is shorter than Collins's (House service began in 2007) but points the same direction: she votes to end U.S. military involvement that Congress did not authorize (Libya ground troops in 2011, Yemen in 2019, Iran in 2026) and votes yes when Congress itself authorizes force (the 2014 train-and-equip mission against ISIL).
- The 2014 vote complicates a simple dovish reading. She backed arming Syrian rebels, a use of force, because Congress voted on it. The through-line is process, not pacifism: force with a congressional vote is legitimate; force without one is not.
- Unlike Collins, Castor never faced the 2001-2002 authorization votes, so this pattern cannot show how she would have voted then. What it shows is fifteen years of consistency once she was in office.
Data unavailable
- Castor took office January 4, 2007, so she has no federal record from the 2001 AUMF or 2002 Iraq AUMF votes; data unavailable for that era.
- Her positions on later efforts to repeal or replace the 2001 AUMF were not verified for this pattern.
Sources
- U.S. House Clerk
- U.S. House Clerk
- U.S. House Clerk
- U.S. House Clerk
- U.S. House Clerk
- castor.house.gov
- castor.house.gov
- castor.house.gov
- castor.house.gov (news list)
- Congress.gov
- chu.house.gov
- legilist.com
- mybillboard.org
- tamparepublic.com
- tamparepublic.com
- tamparepublic.com
- tamparepublic.com
- tampabay28.com
- cltampa.com
- en.wikipedia.org
- gigisrantsandraves.wordpress.com
- nrcc.org
- hellboundanddown.com
- thestarnewsnetwork.com
- Tampa Republic
- Tampa Bay Arts & Education Network
Evidence
Related receipts
No receipts filed for this leader yet.
Every factual item carries its source, date, and last-verified stamp. Items marked unavailable are genuinely missing. Never filled in.