Castor holds Florida 14 with a 15,987-vote reported lead
NBC projects Kathy Castor. The November 5 evening count shows a 15,987-vote lead, with 99% estimated vote in.
What the count shows
Kathy Castor (D, FL14 House); Mike Beltran (R, FL14 House). NBC News projects Kathy Castor as the winner. In the snapshot checked November 5 at 8:48 p.m. Eastern, Castor had 153,586 votes to 137,599 for Mike Beltran. The reported lead was 15,987 votes, or 5.33 percentage points across all candidates.
NBC estimated 99% of the vote was in. A projection means the network expects a winner; it does not certify a completed count. The reported margin can still move as remaining ballots are added.
| Candidate | Source party label | Votes | Share of all votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kathy Castor | Dem | 153,586 | 51.2098% |
| Mike Beltran | Rep | 137,599 | 45.8793% |
| Brian Lambert | Lib | 8,730 | 2.9108% |
| Total | 299,915 | 100% |
| Measure | Margin in percentage points |
|---|---|
| All reported candidates | 5.330510 |
| Leading two candidates only | 5.490324 |
What makes this comparison useful
Castor’s projected win is a result in this district. It does not by itself measure how many seats redistricting created or cost either party. A map-effect claim needs a defensible comparison of district boundaries and votes, not just the outcome in one newly drawn seat.
Keep every candidate in the count
The accessible table includes every candidate reported in the NBC record. The margin subtracts the runner-up’s votes from the leader’s votes and divides by the sum of all reported candidate votes. No votes are silently assigned to a major party.
The denominator check
Using all 299,915 reported candidate votes produces the 5.33-point lead. Restricting the denominator to Kathy Castor and Mike Beltran produces 5.49 points. Both calculations are shown so readers can see the effect rather than confuse the two measures.
The main result in this article keeps all reported votes. The alternate calculation is explanatory, not a replacement for the complete field.
Where the evidence stops
NBC estimated 99% of the vote in. This is a dated reported-count snapshot, not a certified final result. The national house payload was updated Fri, 06 Nov 2026 01:46:11 GMT. That is the source update clock, not the original race-call time or a timestamp for an individual ballot batch.
This article keeps the reported result separate from 21CEE’s locked pre-election forecast. No verified original poll is used here, so no polling-error score is claimed.
Sources and calculations
Reporting: the linked original publishers. Calculations and graphics: 21CEE. Reported margins use the exact candidate counts in the accessible table. The source clocks above describe the retained snapshot. No certification or original call time is inferred.