Castor and GOP challenger spar over abortion, socialism in CD14 debate

Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor, a 20-year incumbent, and her Republican opponent Mike Beltran sparred over socialism, abortion, Israel and immigration in a Friday radio debate for Congressional District 14.

Their heated exchanges reflect just how much of a nail-biter this U.S. House race has become. Two political ratings services consider the race one of the country’s few toss-ups.

Castor, who once held a safe Democratic seat, is now fighting for reelection in a reshaped district that went for President Donald Trump by more than 10 points in 2024. State Republicans eliminated Tampa Bay’s only blue-leaning congressional seat in their rare mid-decade redistricting push earlier this year.

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Beltran, a former state representative, emerged from a crowded GOP primary to take on Castor. While the district’s partisan makeup favors Beltran, he has to contend with Trump’s unpopularity and Castor’s incumbent status.

Debates in high-profile races like Castor’s are increasingly rare, a reality that hosts Mitch Perry of the Florida Phoenix and Creative Loafing’s Ray Roa acknowledged. Candidates for Florida governor and U.S. Senate have turned down debates, as have GOP congressional incumbents in Tampa Bay.

Here are five takeaways from the District 14 debate.

Beltran defends redistricting; Castor calls it illegal

Democrats cried foul when Florida Republicans passed a new congressional map in April that made four blue districts red-leaning, including Castor’s.

Castor’s district once covered parts of Tampa and St. Petersburg. Now it still includes parts of West and South Tampa, but the district has also gained a swath of eastern Hillsborough County, from Plant City to Ruskin.

Beltran noted that the district is now entirely in Hillsborough and keeps places like Plant City intact.

“This is a fair map,” he said. Democrats are “going to say that this map’s unconstitutional or that map’s unconstitutional.”

Castor called the redistricting effort “especially egregious and illegal,” pointing to the state constitutional amendment passed in 2010 that prohibits lawmakers from drawing districts that favor a political party.

Voters “don’t want politicians drawing their own maps, selecting their own voters,” she said.

Stark divide on abortion

The most testy exchange between the candidates came after a question on abortion.

Castor criticized Florida’s six-week abortion ban. And she went after Beltran for sponsoring a state bill that would impose a near-total ban on abortion and subject healthcare providers to criminal penalties if they perform an abortion for any reason other than to save a pregnant woman’s life. (Beltran’s 2024 bill died in committee.)

Beltran said his bill included exceptions. He slammed Castor for voting against a Republican-led bill that would require doctors to provide medical care to infants born after an attempted abortion. Democrats dismissed the bill as redundant, given that killing infants is already illegal, and leaders argued it was an attempt to criminalize doctors.

“That’s infanticide that you voted for,” Beltran said.

“No one believes that, Mike,” Castor said.

Beltran retorted that her vote was in the congressional record.

Moderators then cut the pair off and moved on to the next question.

Who’s more extreme?

Both Castor and Beltran tried to paint each other as too extreme for Congressional District 14, where nonparty-affiliated voters will likely decide the outcome.

Castor argued Beltran would be a rubber stamp on Trump’s agenda. He replied that he was willing to go against Gov. Ron DeSantis as a state representative, and that would hold true in Congress.

Beltran tied Castor to state Rep. Angie Nixon, the Democrat running for U.S. Senate. Nixon joined the Democratic Socialists of America in June but has said she doesn’t agree with all their stances.

Castor, the moderators noted, was one of several Democrats who crossed the aisle to vote for a Republican-led resolution that condemned “socialism in all of its forms.”

“Too many of our neighbors across the Tampa Bay area fled socialism and authoritarianism, and I’ve listened very closely to their stories,” Castor said, before turning the conversation back to affordability.

Trump’s immigration agenda

Beltran and Castor also disagreed on the Trump administration’s mass deportations.

Beltran said the state has rightfully prioritized deporting “gang members, cartel traffickers, violent criminals and national security threats.” But he acknowledged that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have made “a few mistakes.”

“When you’re dealing with thousands or tens of thousands of people, there are going to be a few mistakes,” Beltran said. “The people who make mistakes need to be held accountable, and they need better training for that.”

Castor said she supports a strong border as well as a pathway to citizenship for people “who play by the rules and pay taxes and learn English.”

She also seized on Beltran’s use of the word “mistakes.”

“How can you call the murder of Alex Pretti and Renee Good mistakes?” she asked, referring to the killings of two American citizens by federal immigration agents. “It’s well beyond mistakes.”

Split on Israel

The candidates ended their conversation with a back-and-forth on Israel.

Castor voted down a proposed amendment in July that would eliminate $3.3 billion in U.S. funding to Israel.

“Israel has the right to defend itself, and the people of Israel deserve the right to live in safety and stability,” Castor said. “But the same goes for the Palestinian people.”

She added that she opposes settler violence happening under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and she supports a Palestinian state.

Beltran affirmed his support for Israel as well.

“I think we should sell weapons to Israel,” he said. “But make no mistake, a vote for Kathy Castor is a vote for people who are anti-Israel, such as Ilhan Omar … and Hakeem Jeffries.”

“That’s false, Mike, and you know it,” Castor replied.

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