{/* TODO[2026-05-05]: revisit specific partisan-lean numbers (Cook PVI, Sabato, Trump margin) for the post-redistricting FL-14 footprint when Daily Kos and Decision Desk HQ publish HB 1D analyses. Until then, keep the framing at “expected to lean Republican given the redrawn boundaries” rather than citing specific 2024 numbers from the prior district footprint, which no longer maps to FL-14. */}
I am John Peters, and I am running for the United States Congress to represent Florida’s 14th Congressional District. Eastern Hillsborough County has been home for more than three decades — rooted in Brandon — and I have spent those years in the communities that now make up the post-HB 1D FL-14 footprint. This decision did not come lightly. It came after years of watching Washington fail the families I have come to know across eastern Hillsborough County and the small businesses I have worked with across the county.
I am not a career politician. I am a businessman, a family man, and a Hillsborough County resident of more than 35 years who believes our district deserves better representation than eighteen years of the same incumbent voting the Tampa Democratic line on every consequential bill. I have spent my career in the private sector — managing budgets, meeting payrolls, and making decisions with real consequences. That experience has shaped how I look at every federal-policy fight: results first, careers second.
Why Now? The Challenges Facing FL-14 Families
Our district sits at a crossroads. FL-14’s communities — from Brandon and Valrico east toward Plant City, from Riverview and FishHawk south through Sun City Center to Apollo Beach, from Ruskin and Wimauma along the southern Hillsborough corridor — are facing pressures that demand serious, federally informed leadership.
Insurance costs are crushing Hillsborough County homeowners. The average Florida homeowner is now paying $6,000–$8,000 per year in property insurance — more than three times the national average — and families on canal-front and bay-front blocks across Apollo Beach pay even more. Read my full plan to fix Florida’s homeowners insurance crisis →
I look at the retirees in Sun City Center who worked their whole lives and now worry about whether they can afford to stay in the homes they bought because of skyrocketing insurance premiums and a Medicare Advantage market that Congress is actively threatening to destabilize. Read what I will fight for to protect Medicare for FL-14 seniors →
I talk to small business owners across Brandon and Plant City who are drowning in federal regulation, and I meet young parents across Riverview, FishHawk, and Bloomingdale who are concerned about whether their kids will be able to afford a home in the community where they grew up. These are not Republican problems or Democrat problems. They are Hillsborough County problems, and they require leaders willing to work for real solutions — not careers, not headlines, not the next election.
Why FL-14 Needs New Representation
After Florida’s HB 1D mid-decade redistricting, FL-14 is now Hillsborough County only — and the seat is held by Kathy Castor (D-Tampa), who has represented her Tampa Bay seat through nine consecutive terms — eighteen years. That tenure spans a generation of federal-policy choices: COVID-era spending, the inflation crisis that followed, the Florida insurance market collapse, prescription drug rule changes, federal infrastructure formulas, and the broader trajectory of the federal deficit. The voters of the post-HB 1D FL-14 footprint deserve an honest accounting of whether eighteen years of those votes produced results for the families who now make up the district.
The 2026 race is the first chance Hillsborough County voters get to ask that question against the new district map. The redrawn FL-14 is expected to lean Republican given the redrawn boundaries, but the race remains genuinely competitive — and it will be decided on whether the families of Brandon, Riverview, Valrico, Sun City Center, Apollo Beach, Plant City, Ruskin, and Wimauma believe the seat needs new representation. I believe it does. The status quo has not delivered for FL-14, and eighteen years is a long time to keep voting for more of the same.
Term Limits for Congress: Why I’m Committed to Ending Career Politicians
The single biggest structural problem in Washington is that too many members of Congress view their seat as a career rather than a calling. When you have spent eighteen, twenty, or thirty years in the House, your priorities shift — from your constituents to your own seniority, your own donors, your own re-election. The people who sent you to Washington become an afterthought.
Congressional term limits would change that calculus. A member who knows they will serve eight to twelve years and then return home has every incentive to actually solve problems — because they will live under the laws they pass.
I support a constitutional amendment limiting members of the House to three terms (six years) and members of the Senate to two terms (twelve years). This is not a new idea — it has broad public support across party lines. What it lacks is members of Congress willing to vote for their own term limits. I am pledging to serve no more than three terms myself, and I will push for a constitutional amendment from day one. The era of the career politician must end. Congress was designed for citizen representation, not a permanent governing class. Read my full case for congressional term limits →
A Balanced Budget Amendment: Making Washington Live Within Its Means
The federal government currently carries over $34 trillion in debt — and adds to it every single year. Every family across Hillsborough County has to live within a budget. Every small business across Brandon, Plant City, and Ruskin has to match its spending to its income. The federal government should be held to the same basic standard.
A Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution would require Congress to pass a balanced budget each year, with exceptions for declared wars and genuine national emergencies. This is not a radical idea. Forty-nine states have some form of balanced budget requirement. The federal government is the outlier, and the consequences of that exception are being passed to our children and grandchildren in the form of compounding debt. Read my full case for a Balanced Budget Amendment →
I will be a consistent vote for fiscal responsibility and a vocal advocate for a Balanced Budget Amendment. Cutting waste, eliminating duplicative programs, and making the federal government live within its means is not just good economics — it is a moral obligation to future generations of Hillsborough County families.
What I Stand For: The Issues Driving This Campaign
My campaign is built on making Washington work for the families of FL-14, not for the political establishment. Here are the issues I will fight for in Congress:
- Fixing Florida’s homeowners insurance crisis. Federal reinsurance backstop, NFIP reform, and wind-mitigation incentives to bring premiums down for Hillsborough County families. Read the full Florida homeowners insurance plan →
- Protecting Medicare for Sun City Center and FL-14 seniors. No cuts to Medicare Advantage payment rates, prior authorization reform, and protecting traditional Medicare as a guaranteed benefit. Read the full Medicare plan →
- Infrastructure and traffic relief. Federal funding for I-75 and I-4 capacity improvements, the Selmon Expressway extension, and the corridors that move FL-14 commuters every day. Read the full Hillsborough infrastructure plan →
- School choice and parental rights. Federal Education Savings Accounts, protecting Step Up For Students, and defending Florida homeschool families from federal overreach. Read the full school choice plan →
- Property tax reform. Federal-state interaction on income, payroll, and capital-gains tax that lands at the Hillsborough County household level. Read the full property tax reform plan →
- Veterans care. Expanding VA access at James A. Haley VA Tampa and the Brandon CBOC for the thousands of FL-14 veterans who count on the VA every month. Read the full FL-14 veterans plan →
- Term limits and fiscal responsibility. A constitutional amendment for term limits, a Balanced Budget Amendment, and an end to the era of career politicians.
- Inflation and the cost of living. Federal spending discipline and energy policy that actually brings prices down for FL-14 paychecks. Read the full inflation and cost-of-living plan →
- Border security. Completing the border wall, restoring remain-in-Mexico, and ending catch-and-release. Read the full border security plan →
A Campaign for Every FL-14 Family
Whether you are a lifelong Republican, a registered Democrat tired of where the national party has gone, or an Independent who is sick of the partisan noise, this campaign is for you. I believe roughly 85 to 90 percent of the issues facing Hillsborough County are shared concerns where we can find common ground — insurance costs, traffic, Medicare, education, veterans care, the cost of living. These are not ideological debates. They are practical problems that affect every family across FL-14.
Florida’s 14th District is one of the most consequential, fastest-growing, most dynamic communities in America. After eighteen years of the same incumbent and a brand-new district map, it deserves a representative who will actually show up, work across the aisle when it serves Hillsborough County, fight hard for our district’s interests, and go home when the job is done. That is the kind of representation I am asking you to send to Washington.
Florida’s 14th District: Worth Fighting For
After Florida’s HB 1D mid-decade redistricting, FL-14 sits in the set of approximately 30–40 nationally competitive House seats that will determine control of the U.S. House in 2026. The redrawn district is expected to lean Republican given the redrawn boundaries — but the race remains genuinely competitive. Updated PVI ratings, expected partisan lean, and competitiveness scores will be published by Daily Kos, the Cook Political Report, Sabato’s Crystal Ball, and Decision Desk HQ in advance of qualifying week.
Castor has held this Tampa Bay seat through nine consecutive terms — eighteen years. The 2026 race asks the families of Brandon, Riverview, Valrico, Sun City Center, Apollo Beach, Plant City, Ruskin, and Wimauma whether eighteen years of votes on federal spending, healthcare, energy, infrastructure, and constituent-services performance match the FL-14 footprint they now call home. Read the 2026 FL-14 race analysis →
I am asking for your trust, your voice, and your support as we work together to bring common-sense governance to Washington — and to send Hillsborough County the representation it actually deserves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is John Peters?
John Peters is a Hillsborough County resident of more than 35 years — rooted in Brandon — running for the Republican nomination in Florida’s 14th Congressional District. He is not a career politician; he comes from the private sector and is running on a platform of term limits, a balanced budget amendment, fixing Florida’s homeowners insurance crisis, and protecting Medicare for FL-14 seniors against the nine-term Democrat incumbent Kathy Castor.
What district is John Peters running in?
John Peters is running for Florida’s 14th Congressional District, which after Florida’s HB 1D mid-decade redistricting now covers Hillsborough County only. Major FL-14 communities include Brandon, Riverview, Valrico, FishHawk, Bloomingdale, Sun City Center, Apollo Beach, Plant City, Ruskin, and Wimauma. The seat is currently held by nine-term Democrat Kathy Castor (D-Tampa).
Who is the incumbent in Florida’s 14th Congressional District?
The incumbent in Florida’s 14th Congressional District is Kathy Castor (Democrat), who has represented her Tampa Bay seat through nine consecutive terms — eighteen years. After Florida’s HB 1D mid-decade redistricting, Castor is now the FL-14 incumbent, and the 2026 race is the first chance Hillsborough County voters have to weigh those eighteen years against the new district footprint.
What are term limits for Congress and does John Peters support them?
Congressional term limits would cap the number of terms a member of Congress can serve — for example, three terms (six years) in the House and two terms (twelve years) in the Senate. A constitutional amendment is required to impose term limits. John Peters supports the amendment, pledges to serve no more than three terms himself, and will push the issue from day one in Congress.
When is the Florida 14th District primary in 2026?
The Republican primary for Florida’s 14th Congressional District is August 18, 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The deadline to register or change party affiliation in time to vote in the Republican primary is July 20, 2026. Florida is a closed primary state — only registered Republicans can vote in the Republican primary.
Stand for FL-14 in 2026
The 2026 election is the moment Hillsborough County decides what kind of representation it wants for the next two years — and whether the post-HB 1D FL-14 footprint sends Washington a representative who matches the families profiled across this campaign. After nine terms — eighteen years — that question is finally on the ballot.
Donate to John Peters’ campaign or contact the campaign. See the issues that matter most to FL-14.