Text message to voters says Trump endorsed Kevin Steele in Florida race. It's outdated

Shauna Muckle, Tampa Bay Times on Aug 18, 2026

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TAMPA, Fla. — Two former Florida state representatives, Kevin Steele and Mike Beltran, are wrapping up a contentious eight-person GOP primary Tuesday that will decide who should take on U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, a Democrat, in a reshaped Hillsborough congressional district.

Beltran is crying foul over a text message sent to voters the night before the election that reads, “Kevin Steele is the only candidate that (President Donald) Trump has endorsed.”

The text message, sent to voters from a number that has previously introduced itself as “Republican Kevin Steele” with a headshot and campaign logo of the former Pasco state representative, includes a screenshot of a Truth Social post from Trump announcing his endorsement of Steele.

But Trump has not weighed in on who he’d prefer to challenge Castor in this congressional primary. The Truth Social post is from when Trump endorsed Steele for reelection to his state House seat in 2024.

The text message does not claim Trump has endorsed Steele for Congress specifically. But voters have to click on the image to see that it’s from 2024, Beltran said.

Beltran said the text is designed to “mislead voters.”

“President Trump has NOT endorsed Kevin Steele in this race,” Beltran said on X. “He recycled an endorsement from his State House race in 2024, despite the President’s specific prohibition on recycling endorsements. He designed his text to obscure and confuse the voters.”

Steele’s campaign manager, Jayden Cocuzza, again promoted Trump’s past endorsement in a statement on Tuesday.

“Liberal Lawyers like Mike Beltran make up the rules as they go. Where is there a prohibition on using the President’s endorsement of Kevin Steele?” Cocuzza said. “The fact is that Kevin Steele is the only candidate in this race President Trump has ever endorsed.”

The candidate Hillsborough GOP voters nominate on Tuesday has solid chances of unseating Castor. A GOP-led redistricting effort made her previously safe blue seat red-leaning. Beltran and Steele have poured a combined $4.5 million of their personal wealth into the race and are considered front-runners.

Other Republican contenders include business owner John Peters, Navy veteran Robert “Rocky” Rochford, Tampa restaurant owner Ergin “Batman” Tek, brewery operator Gavriel Soriano, former financial analyst Michael Marcel and Bea Valenti, who was previously a staffer for the White House and Sen. Ashley Moody.

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