Kathy Castor to headline Whitney Fox campaign rally as voting is already underway for CD 13

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor will join Whitney Fox, a Democratic candidate for Florida’s 13th Congressional District, for a campaign rally Saturday, headlining an event before heading out with volunteers to canvass for Fox.

The rally begins Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. at Josiah Cephas Weaver Park at Shelter 1, located at 1258 Bayshore Blvd. in Dunedin.

Remarks from Castor are expected to center on why Fox is the best Democratic candidate in the race to take on incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna in November. Following remarks, volunteers will head out to knock on doors encouraging voters to cast a ballot for Fox in the Aug. 20 Primary.

Fox is one of five Democrats vying for their party’s nomination in the Pinellas County-based district. She faces Sabrina Bousbar, Liz Dahan, John Liccione and Mark Weinkrantz. Fox has so far outraised all of them and, when excluding personal loans to their campaigns, has also outraised the entire field combined by more than $100,000. Fox has not loaned her campaign any money.

Liccione has provided more than $233,000 to his campaign, while Weinkrantz has infused his campaign with $200,000 of his own money. Dahan also loaned her campaign $50,000.

Fox is also leading the Democratic field in endorsements, including from Castor. Just this week, Fox secured support from Amy McGrath, a decorated Marine Corps veteran and founder of Honor Bound PAC. That nod came just days after Fox also secured support from EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics. It brings her total support from current and elected officials, community leaders and advocacy organizations to about 60.

That includes a recent endorsement from U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of California and another from SEIU Florida.

She also recently secured support from Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter, Jaime, was killed in the 2018 Parkland school shooting.

Other backers include U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor, Lois Frankel and Debbie Wasserman Schultz; state Rep. Lindsay Cross; state Sen.-elect Carlos Guillermo Smith; former St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman; former state Sen. Janet Cruz; former state Reps. Margaret Good and Adam Hattersley; former congressional candidate Alan Cohn; Pinellas County Commissioner Rene Flowers; Pinellas County School Board member Caprice Edmond; St. Pete City Council members Gina Driscoll, Deborah Figgs-Sanders and Lisset Hanewicz; Oldsmar Vice Mayor Andrew Knapp; Oldsmar City Council member Steve Graber; Gulfport City Council members Paul Ray and April Thanos; former St. Pete Beach Mayor Al Johnson; former Seminole City Council member Jim Olliver; Largo City Commissioner Michael Smith; Dunedin City Commissioner Jeff Gow; Largo City Commissioner Jamie Robinson; and the National Women’s Political Caucus, among others.

Whoever emerges from the Democratic Primary victorious will have a big challenge ahead. Luna won CD 13 for Republicans in 2022 following redistricting, which shifted the district from a slight Democratic advantage to a GOP-leaning seat. Cook Political Report lists it as an R+6 district.

But while the outlet lists CD 13 as “likely Republican,” it is one of only three congressional races in Florida classified as competitive. The other two are listed as “likely Democrat” — Florida’s 9th Congressional District, represented by Darren Soto, and Florida’s 23rd Congressional District, represented by Jared Moskowitz. Both are incumbent Democrats not facing Primary challenges.