Florida Democrat Kathy Castor holds House seat despite GOP redistricting

Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) is projected to hold on to her Tampa-area seat after fending off a challenge from Republican Mike Beltran, and a bid by Republicans to redistrict her seat, according to Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ).

Castor led Beltran by 5.9 percentage points with 92.9 percent of the vote reported, according to DDHQ as of 7:50 p.m. EST Tuesday.

Castor holds one of four seats that Republicans hoped to gain in the House through redistricting. Democrats now appear to have a fighting chance of winning all four of them.

Her victory also serves as a sign that the House majority may go to Democrats and that the party may hold a larger majority than once predicted.

Castor, who serves as a senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has represented the region for nearly 20 years.

She faced a tough challlenge from Beltran, a former member of the Florida House of Representatives, after Republicans’ midcycle redistricting made the district more competitive for the GOP.

It was seen as a pickup opportunity for Republicans, with Beltran included as part of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s battleground seat program .

He was endorsed by President Trump in early September, but Beltran deemphasized his ties to the president in the general election, removing mentions and images of Trump from his campaign website that were prominently featured during the primary race.

Castor first joined Congress in 2007 as the representative for Florida’s 11th Congressional District. The 2010 redistricting cycle moved much of her Tampa-area constituency into the state’s 14th Congressional District, which she has represented for the past 13 years.