Tampa

Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, in Hillsborough County, with about 400,000 residents in a metro area of roughly 3.2 million. It hosts US Central Command (CENTCOM) and US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) at MacDill Air Force Base on the Interbay peninsula. President Ronald Reagan established CENTCOM at MacDill on 1 January 1983; the base's host unit, the 6th Air Refueling Wing, flies KC-135 tankers. Reporting on CENTCOM's operations routinely uses "Tampa" as shorthand for the command itself, distinct from the city government. Tampa hosted the 2012 Republican National Convention, which nominated Mitt Romney.

Tampa's Florida 14th Congressional District is Governor Ron DeSantis's most-watched redistricting target. DeSantis signed the 24R-4D congressional map into law on 4 May 2026, redrawing FL-14 against sitting Democratic Representative Kathy Castor. Common Cause and Equal Ground Education Fund's Fair Districts challenge, filed within hours of signature, ran through a full hearing before Leon County Circuit Judge Joshua Hawkes, WHO kept the map in force on 26 May, then to the Florida Supreme Court, which declined jurisdiction 6-1 on 10 June and left the map standing for November. Florida's qualifying Deadline closed three days later with the map intact; the constitutional challenge continues at the 1st District Court of Appeal but can no longer change a 2026 race. Castor, an 18-year incumbent, is contesting the redrawn seat as a rated toss-up rather than a SAFE hold.

Tampa hosted an England fixture at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on 7 June, a 1-0 win over New Zealand decided by a first-half Harry Kane goal. Manager Thomas Tuchel fielded two entirely separate elevens across the two halves, the first time England had done so in a single match since June 2004, resting Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka.