U.S. Rep. Laurel Lee draws second Republican challenger in U.S. House-15 election

A Dade City resident is the second Republican seeking to oust Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Brandon, in the U.S. House District 15 election.

James Judge, who initially waged a Republican primary challenge to another incumbent, Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-New Port Richey, in District 12, has switched his candidacy to District 15, where Lee is in her first term.

Judge said that he is responding to former President Donald Trump’s call for Republicans to take on Lee. The former Florida secretary of state initially supported Gov. Ron DeSantis in the presidential campaign, though she endorsed Trump after DeSantis suspended his campaign in late January.

“I am running to end the anarchy at the southern border, restore law-and-order nationwide, shrink the size of the federal government, balance the budget and pay down our national debt, something the Congresswoman has demonstrated she is adamantly against,” Judge said in a news release.

District 15 encompasses western Polk County, including most of Lakeland west of South Florida Avenue, along with parts of Hillsborough and Pasco counties.

Judge, 39, a graduate of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, is a U.S. Coast Guard veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, the release said. He owns Judge Public Relations, a Tampa-based company that handles work for Citizens Defending Freedom, a conservative group based in Polk County.

Judge said he lives just outside the District 15 boundary but is involved in the entire Tampa Bay area and attends a church in Lutz, which is inside the district. Judge ran against U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, in the 2022 race for U.S. House District 14, losing decisively in the predominantly Democratic district.

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Judge criticized Lee for voting in March to approve a $1.2 trillion funding package, as Congress faced the prospect of a partial government shutdown. Judge focused on two elements of the massive legislation, saying it included more federal spending for LGBT initiatives and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

The news release said that two conservative watchdog groups rated Lee’s voting record at 55% or lower for “upholding the Constitution.” In citing campaign donations to Lee from such donors as Google and Meta, the parent of Facebook, Judge claimed that the companies “helped rig the 2020 election against President Trump.”

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In response, Lee's campaign sent The Ledger this statement:

"Congresswoman Laurel Lee is a proven conservative fighter and an American-first candidate who has and will continue to fight for the values of the 15th District of Florida. She is passionate about representing the people of our community and she will continue to fight for conservative policy in Congress.

"Laurel has led the charge on border security as she is a member of the Homeland Security Committee and was named an impeachment manager by the Speaker of the House. She has pushed back on President Biden’s radical left policy agenda and out-of-control spending, supporting conservative wins throughout Congress."

Lee referred to the impeachment of Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

In the days since his announcement, Judge has touted endorsements from two former Republican U.S. House members, Steve King of Iowa and Ted Yoho of Florida.

Another Republican, Brian Ferras of Port Richey, previously entered the race. Two Democrats are also running —former Lake Wales City Commissioner Kris Fitzgerald and Hillsborough County Commissioner Pat Kemp — as well as an independent, Alexander Peterson.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Pasco resident files to challenge Lee in U.S. House-15 GOP primary