The Case Against Mike Beltran

Mike Beltran wants to sell Tampa voters the lie that he is a mainstream conservative ready to represent them in Congress, but his record in Tallahassee tells a very different and far more extreme story, looking out for his bottom line while voting to make life harder and more expensive.

Known as an “ultra-conservative,” Beltran pushed a near-total abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest, tried to make it harder for Floridians to amend their own constitution, and opposed bipartisan investments in health care and affordable housing. Now, he is running for Congress promising to bring the same brand of extreme politics to Washington that is driving up costs and threatening health care for Tampa families.

Kathy Castor has a record of getting things done in Congress, consistently delivering federal investments for the region, expanding health care coverage for children and families, fighting utility monopolies to ensure lower costs for ratepayers, securing critical infrastructure funding, championing veterans’ services, and standing on the front lines against every attempt to gut Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act. The contrast between these two candidates could not be clearer – and for FL-14 families already struggling with rising costs, it could not matter more.

Republicans tried to gerrymander Kathy out of this seat, but with a weak and corrupt candidate like Beltran on their hands against Kathy’s inherent strengths, warning signs already show Republicans failed miserably.

Mike Beltran Voted to Make Life Harder and Less Affordable for Floridians

Throughout his time in public office, Beltran has repeatedly opposed investments that would help Floridians afford health care and housing.

Beltran has called for repealing the Affordable Care Act and voted against expanding Medicaid and housing programs, dismissing such investments as “crony capitalism.” He cast the lone vote in either chamber against Florida’s $717 million “Live Healthy” package, which increased Medicaid reimbursements for dental, nursing, and maternal care.

He was one of just six members of the Florida House to vote against a $711 million affordable housing package.

And when working Floridians stood to benefit from efforts to strengthen their wages, Beltran again sided against them. He voted to prevent local governments from requiring construction contractors to pay competitive wages, stripping protections that a South Florida county estimated covered nearly 20,000 workers. He also backed legislation making it harder for teachers and other public employees to maintain their unions.

In stark contrast to Beltran’s anti-affordability agenda, Kathy has secured federal funding for affordable housing and infrastructure throughout Tampa and backed efforts to make homeownership more accessible to working families. She has championed hurricane-resilience investments that protect homes and property values and fought against health care cuts that shift even greater costs onto Florida families.

She has also taken on some of Florida’s most powerful corporations to lower monthly bills. Kathy has fought utility rate hikes, pushed to stop electric companies from forcing customers to subsidize political spending and lobbying, and introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure families aren’t stuck paying the enormous infrastructure costs created by new data centers.

Beltran used his time in public office to harm Floridians. Kathy has used hers to fight for Tampa families’ bottom lines.

Mike Beltran’s Dangerous Record is Too Extreme for Tampa

Beltran’s record is out of step with Tampa families. Beltran sponsored legislation that would have banned nearly all abortions in Florida with no exceptions for rape or incest and threatened doctors who performed them with up to ten years in prison. He later voted for Florida’s six-week abortion ban, calling it a “compromise” because his preferred policy went even further, despite both counties in the district voting overwhelmingly to protect the right to abortion.

On top of trying to control Floridians’ bodies, Beltran has tried to make it harder for Floridians to exercise their own voting power. He pushed measures raising the threshold for voters to amend Florida’s constitution, including a proposal that would have blocked a pending 2028 Medicaid expansion initiative and taken a major health care decision out of voters’ hands entirely.

And his extremism extends well beyond Tallahassee. Beltran disputed the results of the 2020 election, and has pledged to pursue a constitutional amendment using extreme language to target immigrant families when an estimated 142,000 Floridians benefit from birthright citizenship.

Kathy Castor trusts Florida women and Florida voters to make their own decisions. She has fought to protect reproductive freedom and voting rights rather than using government power to take those rights away. And while Beltran is just another MAGA extremist, Kathy has spent her career focused on one thing: delivering results for Tampa, regardless of which party controls Washington.

Mike Beltran Backs a National Agenda that Raises Costs and Steals Health Care from Floridians

Beltran has faithfully supported the administration and its harmful agenda, including the Big Ugly Bill, which delivered the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, kicking nearly 60,000 people in the Tampa region off their health insurance in order to fund tax cuts for billionaires and corporations, while the average family making less than $50,000 a year will see  less than $1 a day in tax relief in 2027.

Beltran can also be expected to rubber-stamp the reckless tariffs which raised prices on Floridians across the board. The tariffs have hurt Florida’s restaurant industry and were expected to increase home construction costs in a state already gripped by a housing affordability crisis. Overall, the tariffs were estimated to cost the average family $2,500 in 2025.

“MAGA Mike” Beltran has supported the president’s policies at Floridians’ expense through and through, including the reckless war of choice in Iran, which cost U.S. taxpayers billions. The war has pushed Florida gas prices to a four-year high, adding roughly $16 to the cost of filling up a tank, and is driving inflation across the broader economy. In fact, the spike in fuel prices is large enough to cancel out the tax savings families were promised from the Big, Ugly Bill.

Beltran’s Tallahassee record makes clear what Tampa families could expect from him in Congress: another vote for an agenda that asks working families to pay more while the wealthy and well-connected get ahead.

Kathy Castor has spent her career fighting those pressures instead of adding to them. She helped pass and has repeatedly defended the Affordable Care Act, championed KidCare, fought to protect Medicaid and Medicare, and consistently supported efforts to lower prescription drug costs. Kathy has also delivered the investments that keep Tampa’s economy moving. She has secured billions in federal investments for the region, including major infrastructure projects that support good-paying jobs, manufacturing, and long-term economic development. In 2026 alone, she helped secure nearly $11 million for Tampa International Airport to modernize critical infrastructure at one of the region’s most important economic engines.

While Beltran backs policies that leave Tampa families paying more, Kathy has spent her career bringing resources home, creating jobs, lowering costs, and protecting the health care families have earned.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING 

Tampa Bay Times: Can Tampa Bay’s lone Democratic representative pull off an upset? [Tampa Bay Times, 6/25/26]

“Castor is betting that her history of service in the region still holds sway with voters, including some whom President Donald Trump wooed in 2024. […]

“I have a strong record of delivering, and folks across the aisle could vote for me every election I have, because I have been out there solving problems…We brought $709 million back to Hillsborough County for housing repair and infrastructure repair tied to the hurricanes.” – Kathy Castor

Florida Politics: Did Ron DeSantis draw a dummymander? Poll shows Kathy Castor beating both top Republicans in CD 14 [Florida Politics, 7/15/26]

Gov. Ron DeSantis redrew Florida’s 14th Congressional District to retire U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor. A new St. Pete Polls survey suggests it may not work.

On paper, Republicans should win this seat by double digits. The poll says otherwise.

Florida Politics: Sabato’s Crystal Ball moves Kathy Castor seat from ‘Lean R’ to ‘Toss-up’ [Florida Politics, 7/30/26]

Florida Politics: Kathy Castor posts $1M quarter as she prepares to defend redrawn CD 14 [Florida Politics, 7/1/26]

Florida Politics: Kathy Castor seeks guarantee ratepayers won’t cover added costs from data centers [Florida Politics, 6/21/26]

Tech companies say Americans will not foot the bill for powering data centers, but U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor wants that promise written into law.

“My neighbors across Florida are grappling with skyrocketing electric bills. Ratepayers should not have to subsidize wealthy corporations’ growing energy demands, especially from AI data centers,” Castor said. “The Ratepayer Protection Act safeguards consumers by ensuring these data centers pay for the energy and grid upgrades they need so hard-working families and local businesses are not stuck paying more.”

PATH TO VICTORY 

Despite a Republican dummymander designed to knock Kathy Castor out of office, early polling already shows Kathy leading Beltran 46% to 38% in the Republican-gerrymandered district. In a district where Democrats received more than 48% of the vote share in both the 2018 gubernatorial and the 2020 House and Presidential races — Kathy Castor’s proven ability to overperform ensures this will be a tossup race come November.

The secret weapon is Kathy’s home field advantage. In the portions of the old district that overlap with the new FL-14, Kathy has consistently and significantly outrun the top of the ticket — performing over 5 points better than the top of the ticket in both 2024 and 2022. That advantage, built over two decades of showing up and delivering results, does not disappear when the lines move.

With over $1 million raised last quarter, strong support across the region, and early polling already breaking her way, the resources and momentum are there.

Kathy Castor has earned the trust of FL-14 families by showing up, fighting powerful interests, delivering real results, and never losing sight of who she works for. She has expanded health care for children, protected Medicare and Medicaid, secured billions in infrastructure investments, stood up for veterans, taken on utility monopolies, and fought to lower costs for Tampa families at every turn.

The choice in FL-14 is clear. Mike Beltran has spent his career chasing extremism and enriching himself while voting to make life harder and more expensive for the people he wants to represent. Kathy Castor has spent hers fighting for the families of Tampa — and she’s not done yet.

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