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Fred Costello

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Fred Costello
Image of Fred Costello
Prior offices
Florida House of Representatives District 25

Florida House of Representatives District 26

Elections and appointments
Last election

August 28, 2018

Education

Bachelor's

Graceland University, 1970

Other

University of Iowa, 1974

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Air Force

Years of service

1974 - 1977

Personal
Religion
Christian
Profession
Dentist
Contact

Fred Costello (Republican Party) was a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing District 25.

Costello (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 6th Congressional District. He lost in the Republican primary on August 28, 2018.

Costello is a former Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing District 25 from 2014 to 2016. Costello did not seek re-election to the Florida House of Representatives in 2016. Instead, Costello was a 2016 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 6th Congressional District of Florida.[1] Costello was defeated by incumbent Ron DeSantis in the Republican primary on August 30, 2016.[2]

Costello previously served in the Florida House of Representatives, representing District 26 from 2010 to 2012. He was a 2012 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent of Florida. Costello was defeated by Ron DeSantis in the Republican primary on August 14, 2012.[3]

Biography

Costello was born and raised in Orlando, Florida.[4] He earned his B.S. from Graceland University and his D.D.S. from the University of Iowa.[4] His professional experience includes working as a dentist. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force from 1974 to 1977.[4]

Committee assignments

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Costello served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Costello served on these committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Elections

2018

See also: Florida's 6th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 6

Michael Waltz defeated Nancy Soderberg in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 6 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Michael Waltz
Michael Waltz (R)
 
56.3
 
187,891
Image of Nancy Soderberg
Nancy Soderberg (D)
 
43.7
 
145,758

Total votes: 333,649
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 6

Nancy Soderberg defeated John Upchurch and Stephen Sevigny in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 6 on August 28, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Nancy Soderberg
Nancy Soderberg
 
55.6
 
32,174
Image of John Upchurch
John Upchurch
 
22.6
 
13,088
Image of Stephen Sevigny
Stephen Sevigny
 
21.8
 
12,633

Total votes: 57,895
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 6

Michael Waltz defeated John Ward and Fred Costello in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 6 on August 28, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Michael Waltz
Michael Waltz
 
42.4
 
32,916
Image of John Ward
John Ward
 
30.4
 
23,593
Image of Fred Costello
Fred Costello
 
27.2
 
21,074

Total votes: 77,583
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates



2016

See also: Florida's 6th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Ron DeSantis (R) sought re-election in 2016. He defeated William McCullough (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. DeSantis defeated G.G. Galloway and Fred Costello in the Republican primary, while McCullough defeated Jay McGovern, George Pappas, and Dwayne Taylor to win the Democratic nomination. The primary elections took place on August 30, 2016.[5][2]

U.S. House, Florida District 6 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngRon DeSantis Incumbent 58.6% 213,519
     Democratic William McCullough 41.4% 151,051
Total Votes 364,570
Source: Florida Division of Elections


U.S. House, Florida District 6 Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngRon DeSantis Incumbent 61% 41,311
Fred Costello 24.7% 16,690
G.G. Galloway 14.3% 9,683
Total Votes 67,684
Source: Florida Division of Elections
U.S. House, Florida District 6 Democratic Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngWilliam McCullough 36.6% 16,043
Dwayne Taylor 28.8% 12,625
Jay McGovern 19.1% 8,388
George Pappas 15.4% 6,762
Total Votes 43,818
Source: Florida Division of Elections

2014

See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Florida House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 26, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 20, 2014. Noel Cheryl Bickford was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Fred Costello was unopposed in the Republican primary. Costello defeated Bickford in the general election.[6][7]

Endorsements

In 2014, Costello's endorsements include the following:[8]

  • BusinessForce
  • Florida Chamber of Commerce
  • Florida Dental Association PAC
  • Florida Medical Association PAC
  • National Rifle Association - A Rating
  • Alan Hays
  • Kelli Stargel
  • Larry Metz
  • Matt Gaetz
  • Keith Perry
  • Tom Goodson
  • Dennis Baxley
  • Lake Ray
  • Pat Rooney
  • Mike Bileca
  • Frank Artilles
  • Jose Pepe Diaz
  • Carlos Truijillo
  • Doc Renuart
  • Jason Bordeur

2012

See also: Florida's 6th Congressional District elections, 2012

Costello ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Florida's 6th District. Costello sought the nomination on the Republican ticket.[9] The primary elections were held on August 14, 2012. Costello was defeated by Ron DeSantis in the Republican primary on August 14, 2012.[3][10]

U.S. House, Florida District 6 Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngRon Desantis 38.8% 24,132
Fred Costello 22.8% 14,189
Beverly Slough 13.2% 8,229
Craig Miller 13.1% 8,113
Richard Clark 9.8% 6,090
Alec Pueschal 1.2% 739
William Billy Kogut 1% 628
Total Votes 62,120

2010

See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2010

Costello won election, defeating Timothy Huth (D) in the November 2 general election.[11]

Florida House of Representatives, District 26
2010 General election results
Candidates Votes Percent
Green check mark transparent.png Fred Costello (R) 34,369 60.48%
Timothy Huth (D) 22,460 39.52%

Costello defeated Vince Champion and Nathan Daniel McDonell in the August 24 primary.[12]

Florida House of Representatives, District 26 - Republican Primary (2010)
Candidates Votes Percent
Green check mark transparent.png Fred Costello 7,341 49.96%
Nathan McDonell 4,042 27.51%
Vince Champion 3,312 22.54%

Campaign themes

2014

Costello's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[13]

Tax Reform

  • Excerpt: "I support revenue neutral tax reform. We must restore equity in our Florida tax system so that all constituencies are equitably impacted by the balance between desired services and the resources required to provide those services."

Educational Reform, Funding and "Common Core"

  • Excerpt: "I support parent directed education reform including school choice (public, charter, private, parochial, religious, digital and/or home schools) with the education funding (whether called a voucher or scholarship or …) following the student."

Economic Development / Jobs

  • Excerpt: "I support initiatives to stimulate creation of living wage jobs including increased educational investment in career educational opportunities, reduced development and government regulations and targeted tax rebates and other incentives with claw/pay back requirements if job creation projections aren't met."

Health Care Reform

  • Excerpt: "ObamaCare is unconstitutional. It must be repealed. I support enhanced access to healthcare for Florida students through age 18."

Intergovernmental Relations

  • Excerpt: "I support transparency and increased accountability at all levels of government, specifically to include elimination of unfunded mandates and cost shifts from one government to another."

Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


Fred Costello campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2018U.S. House Florida District 6Lost primary$288,014 $283,403
2014Florida House of Representatives, District 25Won $128,195 N/A**
2012U.S. House, Florida District 6Lost $301,661 N/A**
2010Florida House of Representatives, District 26Won $281,427 N/A**
Grand total$999,297 $283,403
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Costello and his wife, Linda Gail Ditzig, have three children.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Florida

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Florida scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.









2016

In 2016, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 12 through March 11.

Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to social issues.
Legislators are scored on their stances on healthcare related issues.
Legislators are scored on whether the organization believes they are making an effort to provide “a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high quality education.”
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.


2015


See also

External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
Charles David Hood Jr. (R)
Florida House of Representatives District 25
2014–2016
Succeeded by
Tom Leek (R)
Preceded by
Pat Patterson
Florida House of Representatives District 26
2010–2012
Succeeded by
Dwayne L. Taylor (D)


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
Neal Dunn (R)
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
Anna Luna (R)
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
Republican Party (22)
Democratic Party (8)