Overview
- Crist, who filed at City Hall on Monday, launched a bid to lead his hometown and make the officially nonpartisan race a direct challenge to incumbent Mayor Ken Welch.
- He starts with a large cash edge as his St. Pete Shines committee reported more than $475,000 raised in the first quarter and about $1.1 million on hand, while Welch finished March with about $193,000 after raising just under $220,000.
- Crist says the city has been on pause and faults Welch’s communication, pointing to a canceled Moffitt Cancer Center plan and stalled talks tied to the Rays site in the Historic Gas Plant District.
- He highlights affordability, hurricane response, and education pathways, backs putting a $600 million stormwater bond to voters, and says he would restart Rays negotiations if the Hillsborough County deal falls through.
- A late-March poll showed Crist at 23% and Welch at 19% with 42% undecided, in a field that also includes Brandi Gabbard, Kevin Batdorf, Jim Large, Maria Scruggs, and Paul Congemi.