Clearwater – Despite making an announcement at the November meeting of the Tampa Bay Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce that she would run for the late Bill Young’s District 13 congressional seat, Kristin Beck did not qualify before the noon deadline Nov. 19.
Beck, a former Navy SEAL who made national headlines over the summer when she transitioned, made the announcement in a subtle way while addressing the crowd at the Holiday Inn on Ulmerton Road.
“I want to be the first transgender person in Congress, and I want to make a difference,” she told the gathering of 30 or so people. “We’re in a point in our lifetime that we can enact change, and I know I can do that from Washington, D.C.
Young, a Republican, served in the seat for more than four decades and announced in the late summer that he wouldn’t seek re-election because of health issues. He died Oct. 18.
The only Democrat seeking the position is former Gubernatorial Candidate and Florida CFO Alex Sink, who launched her campaign for the seat in October. Three Republicans. Rep. Kathleen Peters, David Jolly and Mark Bircher, will face off in a special Jan. 14 primary election. Also qualifying were Clearwater Libertarian Lucas Overby and St. Petersburg write-in candidate Michael Levinson.
Beck, 46, said that she decided the night of the Chamber meeting to run for Young’s position. She wasn’t clear, however, on which district Young represented or how long he had been in office before he passed away. Beck is currently registered to vote under the name Christopher Beck as a No Party voter or “independent.”
The former SEAL was a Pentagon consultant who was wounded repeated and much-decorated during 13 deployments to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I fought on the battlefield and I’ve fought as a small business owner,” explained Beck when she announced her intent. “Now it’s time for me to take on a different fight.”
Beck made headlines earlier this year when she shared publicly that she was a transgender woman and released her memoir, Warrior Princess. She served in the Navy for 20 years, and since coming out has appeared on Cable news networks, talk shows and in newspapers across the country.
In her book, Beck shares that from the age of 5 she knew she was different. But she was raised by a dogmatically religious family and attended a Christian school operated by right-wing leader Jerry Falwell.
Beck, who married twice, has two sons from her first marriage. She has never sought public office.
“We have to stand together,” she told the group, adding that she was inspired by a transgender 16 year old she met in Volusia County earlier this fall.
“Here’s this kid fighting for his rights, something that was unimaginable when I was his age,” Beck continued. “If he can fight for us, then so can I.”
At press time it was unclear whether Beck still had political ambitions.
The special election primary is scheduled for Jan. 14 and the general election is March 11.
District 13 covers Clearwater, Dunedin, St. Pete Beach, Largo, Pinellas Park and St. Petersburg.
