Congressional race pits incumbent Castor against Quinn

Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Florida and Christine Quinn, R-Florida are running for Congressional representative for Florida’s District 14. Special to the Oracle

When voters show up to the polls, they’ll see the names of two candidates running for Congress in Florida’s 14th district: Republican nominee Christine Quinn and Democratic incumbent Kathy Castor.

Quinn is a strong advocate of small businesses, having founder of the seasoning company My Family’s Seasonings, in 2005. She also has voiced support for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. 

She is an avid supporter of the Second Amendment, but heavily pushes for those who purchase guns to get proper training. In reference to the Black Lives Matter movement, Quinn said she believes “All lives matter.” 

She received the GOP nomination by default when perennial candidate Eddie Adams failed to qualify for the ballot. 

Castor, her opponent, is vying for a sixth term and is a Tampa native, unlike Quinn who hails from Southern California. Castor is the first woman to represent Hillsborough and Pinellas County in Congress. 

She was originally elected in 2006 and re-elected every two years since. 

Castor has worked to increase the numbers of Pell Grants available to students, wishes to continue to raise the minimum wage and has cut taxes for middle-class families.

As county commissioner in 2005, she was the only vote against a gay pride ban. The ban was repealed in 2013 by a unanimous vote by the Hillsborough County Commission.

She supported the funding of local Planned Parenthoods and in 2013 sponsored a student loan forgiveness program, which would cancel college loans after 10 years for those who had made all 120 of the monthly payments. 

Castor is also the daughter of former USF President Betty Castor, who was the university’s first female president, and Hillsborough County Judge Don Castor. 

Early voting began last Saturday and will end this Saturday, three days before Election Day.