ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — If you opened your ballot recently and were surprised by some of the races, you probably stopped listening to all the back and forth earlier in the year about new congressional lines.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis drew the lines for Florida's new districts, a job usually left to the state legislature.
The new maps are being challenged in court but for this election, these are the lines of the land and District 14, a seat held by Kathy Castor (D) since 2007 now includes parts of St. Petersburg including downtown St. Pete, south St. Pete and areas east of I-275 and U.S. 19.
"Instead of having two full seats in Pinellas County, we now have about one and a quarter in Pinellas," said Dr. Lars Hafner, a political analyst.
Hafner said the move made District 14 even more Democratic but opened the door for a more Republican district in District 13 by gaining more northern parts of Pinellas county.
Some question whether St. Petersburg will have as ample representation now that it shares a representative with Tampa.
"You don’t know what the future holds when a new congressperson gets elected and whether they will blow off St. Pete or actually have St. Pete voices heard," said Hafner.
Incumbent Castor has a long history in Tampa and served on the Hillsborough County Commission prior to running for Congress in 2006.
Her Republican challenger, James Judge, is a political newcomer and U.S. Coast Guard veteran. He says he was inspired to run after he saw the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
10 Tampa Bay reporter Liz Crawford is interviewing the candidates and we want your input. Feel free to E-mail her at LCrawford@10TampaBay.com with your questions for District 14 candidates Castor and Judge.