James Judge - Ballotpedia

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James Judge (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 15th Congressional District. He lost in the Republican primary on August 20, 2024.

Judge completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

James Judge was born in Clearwater, Florida. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 2003 to 2007. Judge earned a bachelor's degree from Eckerd College in 2013. His career experience includes working as a businessman.^[1]

Elections

2024

See also: Florida's 15th Congressional District election, 2024

Florida's 15th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Republican primary)

Florida's 15th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 15

Incumbent Laurel Lee defeated Pat Kemp in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 15 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Laurel Lee (R)	56.2	195,334
		Pat Kemp (D)	43.8	152,361

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 347,695
= 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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Alexander Peterson (No Party Affiliation)

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Pat Kemp advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 15.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Kris Fitzgerald (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 15

Incumbent Laurel Lee defeated James Judge and Jennifer Barbosa in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 15 on August 20, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Laurel Lee	72.3	28,571
		James Judge	18.1	7,137
		Jennifer Barbosa	9.6	3,809

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 39,517
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Brian Perras (R)

Endorsements

Judge received the following endorsements.

Frmr. U.S. Rep. Steve King (R)
Frmr. U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho (R)
Republican Liberty Caucus
Roger Stone - Political Consultant

2022

See also: Florida's 14th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 14

Incumbent Kathy Castor defeated James Judge in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 14 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kathy Castor (D)	56.9	149,737
		James Judge (R)	43.1	113,427

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 263,164
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 14

Incumbent Kathy Castor defeated Christopher Bradley in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 14 on August 23, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kathy Castor	90.3	62,562
		Christopher Bradley	9.7	6,684

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 69,246
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Anthony Eldon (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 14

James Judge defeated Jerry Torres and Samar Nashagh in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 14 on August 23, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Judge	53.1	20,466
		Jerry Torres	29.6	11,398
		Samar Nashagh	17.3	6,650

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 38,514
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Angel Urbina (R)
Landon Campbell (R)

Endorsements

To view Judge's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

James Judge completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Judge's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Limited Government

Fiscal Responsibility
Border Security
Protecting Life
Election Integrity
Lawful Immigration

Restoring the Family

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Community Patriots https://judgeforcongress.com/grassroots-group-shifts-support-from-incumbent-rep-bilirakis-endorses-primary-challenger-james-judge/

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

James Judge completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Judge's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

James Judge (born April 11, 1984) is an American businessman and military veteran running for the United States House of Representatives in Florida's 14th congressional district as a Republican candidate.

Judge is a Tampa Bay area native and was born in Clearwater, Florida. He attended local schools including Skycrest Christian School, Oak Grove Middle School, Dunedin High School and later graduated from Eckerd College. Additionally, he served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 2003-2007, where he was deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Adak, 2004 until 2005.

From 2010 until 2011, Judge served with the U.S. Department of Defense as a spokesman for NATO and the International Security Assistance Force in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Since leaving the government sector in 2011, Judge founded Judge Public Relations, a public relations and marketing firm headquartered in Tampa, with global operations.

Additionally, Judge was one of the organizing founders of the Skyway 10K, which has raised more than $2 million for military families.

On May 31, 2022, Judge was endorsed by Frank Hibbard, the mayor of Clearwater and on June 6, 2022, Congressman Ted Yoho, who served Florida's 3rd Congressional district from 2013-2021, endorsed Judge.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I am a Christian, conservative, U.S. military war veteran that wants less federal government and more freedom.
I fully support and will defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
I am the only conservative candidate born-and-raised right here in the Tampa Bay area.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Fiscal Policy: we need to stop printing money and cut frivolous federal government spending. The federal government should be required to balance the budget and not spend more than it takes in.

Foreign Affairs: we need good foreign policy and strong leadership to ensure good trade policies and national security, which will bolster a strong economy.

Defense: We need a strong military to ensure peace and protect our national interests.

Transportation and Infrastructure: We need to invest in transportation and infrastructure for the decades ahead.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Honesty and humility.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Our country healing and coming back together. This may be a lofty goal, but I would love to see it.

What is your favorite book? Why?

I have two favorite books.

The Bible: because it provides us all we need to know for how to live.

A Land Remembered, because it's a well-written, historical fiction, that follows a family of characters throughout Florida's unique history.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Like all people, sin is something I have struggled with my entire life. Additionally, until about three years ago, I struggled with alcohol and nicotine. Luckily, I turned my life over to God, and Jesus has been working on me, ever since, though He's still got a lot more to do. I am happy to report I have been sober since then and am loving the adventure with God at the wheel.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

We should have them.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign website

Judge's campaign website stated the following:

“

I am a God-loving, pro-gun, pro-law enforcement, pro-military, pro-free-speech, Constitution-loving, fiscally conservative, libertarian-minded, decorated war veteran, Republican, who is willing to take the fight to D.C.

To sum it up in one sentence, I believe in less federal government and more freedom.

The following questions were submitted to me by the Tampa Bay Times. Please feel free to review them and my responses in their entirety.

1. Please list your top three priorities.

Addressing inflation
Reducing the federal debt
Restoring law-and-order by supporting law enforcement

2. What specific steps would you take to address inflation?

We need to reduce gas prices.
We can start by decreasing regulation.
Incentivize refineries to ramp operations back up to pre-COVID levels
Improve foreign policy with OPEC nations, including Saudi Arabia
Force Russia to retreat from Ukraine through strong foreign policy and severe consequences if they do not retreat

3. Would you support Sen. Mitt Romney’s plan for an expanded child tax credit? Why or why not?

We need to spend less money at the federal level. Giving away money is part of our inflation problem.
Throwing money at problems is what we always do, and it clearly does not work. We need to eliminate federal spending and help families by taxing less.
Personally, I think we should eliminate the federal income tax and institute a flat, national sales tax.
We also need to improve education at the local level, teach accepting personal responsibility for one’s actions, promote positive attitudes and encourage entrepreneurship.

4. How important is it for the nation to start paying down its national debt? Why?

This is critically important, because we have more than $30 trillion+ in debt, and $170 trillion+ in unfunded liabilities. It is absolutely unsustainable and if people think inflation is bad now, it will only get much worse. We MUST cut federal spending and we MUST start paying down our debt immediately.

5. Do you support or oppose a ban on offshore drilling near Florida? Please explain.

I support a ban on offshore drilling near Florida. Though, I’d be happy to lift bans in ANWR and other places, where cleanup would be much easier in the event of a spill.
I’m fully supportive of electric vehicles if the free market desires more, but we do need to work to improve the power grid. I also support building new nuclear power plants, which can create clean water through desalination.

6. Explain your position on gun safety measures, including closing the gun-show loophole on background checks, banning assault weapons and limiting large-capacity magazines.

Regarding safety – never point a gun at something unless you intend to shoot it and always keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to pull it.
Guns are the most regulated item sold in America, which are a guaranteed right under the 2^nd You do realize, it’s already illegal to sell a firearm to someone that should not have one…
Besides the fact that we are entitled to own high-capacity magazines, the 2^nd Amendment literally says, “shall not be infringed.”
The 2020 riots, where buildings in Tampa were torched and looted, while police precincts in other parts of the country were set on fire, cities were taken over and turned into war zones, while chaos ensued – the government demonstrated they could not protect its citizens. It is one of many reasons for the need to have high-capacity magazines.
Furthermore, my AR-15s are not for hunting, though I can use my suppressed 300 blackout for hunting, if I wanted. They are to protect my home, and they are to protect me, my family and my fellow citizens from the government, should it become tyrannical.
Using a term like “assault weapon” is purely hyperbole and idiotic. Politicians and the media love this term, but it’s absurd. If I drove a car through a crowd of people, would you call it an assault vehicle? Automatic weapons are already banned/ highly regulated. My AR-15s are not assault rifles. For the record, the AR in AR-15 does not stand for assault rifle, it stands for ArmaLite Rifle. Stop sensationalizing everything. It’s a gun or rifle and its primary use in America is defensive.

7. What changes, if any, do you support for Social Security and Medicare?

We need to make sure we have enough money to pay for these programs, which is why we need to cut federal spending. Social Security and Medicare were sold to us as things that would be there for future generations. The public has paid taxes expecting to receive them. The government should follow through on the promises made. At the same time, I typically believe in less federal government and more states’ rights, so I would look at ways to decrease any federal regulation that increases the cost of living in general or causes medicine to be more expensive.

8. Do you support or oppose changes to immigration policy that would include a path to permanent legal status or citizenship for undocumented immigrants?

We absolutely need to fix our broken immigration system. We need to enforce the laws we have, and strengthen our border security. However, I also think we need to be compassionate to the millions of people who were let in and used as political pawns. If people entered our country illegally, there should be consequences, but I think we could come to an arrangement that makes sense for all parties. I’d like to see the border secured, and then we can discuss the penalties and a path to citizenship. Perhaps, those who entered illegally can be placed on a type of probation, and pay a fine or penalty tax over several years, which once complete, along with a demonstration of abiding by the law and passing a citizenship test, they could be granted citizenship.

9. Do you believe that Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election?

I don’t know what to believe. I believe there was cheating, but I do not know if it was enough to flip the election. However, I do have faith in the process and am fighting to restore faith in our great Republic.

10. What actions, if any, do you support for reducing greenhouse gas emissions?

We should work to reduce pollution in general, because it’s the right thing to do, not because of scientists’ predictions, or sensational media stories, which are consistently wrong. I am a fisherman; I hunt alligators and I love our great Florida outdoors, but, I also want those resources to be preserved for future generations. If we can reduce emissions and eliminate environmental pollution, I’m all in.

11. Name one policy area in which you agree with the opposing party and explain why.

I agreed with ending the wet-foot, dry-foot policy. We were essentially financing the illegal immigration smuggling operation we were trying to stop.

12. Do you believe the Affordable Care Act is working for Americans? What would you like to keep the same with the health care plan and what would you change?

The Obama-Biden Affordable Care Act is clearly not working. Everyone I know complains about how outrageously expensive their health insurance has become, along with just about everything else in America these days, as inflation skyrockets. I believe we should encourage free-market competition, as much as possible, and remove any regulations that stifle the free market or make medicine more expensive. Government needs to get out of the way and allow free and fair competition.

13. Congress recently passed gun reform legislation---the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act--- What kind of gun reforms would you support and what would you oppose?

I would oppose most new gun control regulations, as guns are already one of the most regulated items a person is legally allowed to rightfully own. Regarding what I would support, I would discuss raising the age of being recognized as an adult. If Democrats want to raise the age for people to own a gun to 25, then we should also raise the voting age to 25. Both require incredible responsibility and are extremely dangerous if permitted in irresponsible hands, so if Democrats believe people should be older and more responsible to own guns, I believe the voting age must coincide, along with other restrictions until adulthood is achieved. To clarify, I say that partially in jest, as Democrats would never agree to that, as they are actively pushing for 16-year-olds to be able to vote.

14. What role should the federal government play in confronting the climate crisis and sea level rise?

None. However, please note that does not mean that I do not support keeping our environment clean and being responsible when it comes to eliminating waste and pollution. I fully support being friendly to the environment because it’s just the right thing to do for our neighbors and future generations. But, “climate crisis” is a term loved by the media, as it helps to sell newspapers and get eyeballs on television, which results in ratings and higher advertising prices. Using terms like “climate crisis” is purely hyperbolic, and it’s truly a disservice to your readership. Plenty of scientists disagree with climate change or the alarms that claim that there is a crisis. The earth’s climate changes over time and it has done so throughout history with glacial periods and interglacial periods occurring naturally. One large volcano eruption can alter the course of earth’s temperature for enormous periods of time. Having said that, what does the Tampa Bay Times plan to do about the journalism crisis? Objective journalism is essentially dead, and America is in desperate need of a verifiable news outlet that presents facts and allows readers to draw their own conclusion without inserting opinion.^[2]

”

—James Judge's campaign website (2022)^[3]

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.

James Judge campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Florida District 15	Lost primary	$86,135	$88,019
2022	U.S. House Florida District 14	Lost general	$216,847	$214,964
Grand total			$302,982	$302,982
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

U.S. House Florida District 15

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 10, 2022
↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
↑ James Judge for Congress, “Platform and Q&A,” accessed October 7, 2022

Florida's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Ashley Moody (R)

Representatives

District 1

Jimmy Patronis (R)

District 2

Neal Dunn (R)

District 3

Kat Cammack (R)

District 4

Aaron Bean (R)

District 5

John Rutherford (R)

District 6

Randy Fine (R)

District 7

Cory Mills (R)

District 8

Mike Haridopolos (R)

District 9

Darren Soto (D)

District 10

Maxwell Frost (D)

District 11

Daniel Webster (R)

District 12

Gus Bilirakis (R)

District 13

Anna Luna (R)

District 14

Kathy Castor (D)

District 15

Laurel Lee (R)

District 16

Vern Buchanan (R)

District 17

Greg Steube (R)

District 18

Scott Franklin (R)

District 19

Byron Donalds (R)

District 20

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D)

District 21

Brian Mast (R)

District 22

Lois Frankel (D)

District 23

Jared Moskowitz (D)

District 24

Frederica Wilson (D)

District 25

Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D)

District 26

Mario Diaz-Balart (R)

District 27

Maria Elvira Salazar (R)

District 28

Carlos Gimenez (R)

Republican Party (22)

Democratic Party (8)

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