Charlie Crist buries Ken Welch in latest fundraising, grows cash advantage to more than $700K

Charlie Crist raised six times what incumbent Mayor Ken Welch brought in during the most recent fundraising period for the St. Petersburg mayoral election.

In the period covering July 11-17, Crist raised $76,100 to his St. Pete Shines political committee. Welch, meanwhile, raised just $12,500 to his affiliated political committee, St. Petersburg Progress.

Making the gap more stark, $10,000 of Welch’s committee haul came from Tampa Bay Entertainment Properties, which gave the same amount to Crist.

And Crist continues to grow his cash on hand advantage over Welch. Crist’s total fundraising to date for his political committee has now reached nearly $1.7 million, with more than $878,000 left on hand. Welch has raised just $354,060 to his committee, and retains just $149,000.

Crist’s largest contribution came from the Floridians for a Better Florida political committee, with a $25,000 check that brings the PC’s total contributions to St. Pete Shines since its inception to $55,000. Other large donations include $18,000 from Friends for a Better St. Petersburg and $10,000 from Ballard Partners.

Previous donors span the political gambit, punctuating one of Crist’s campaign talking points that he will be a Mayor for all St. Pete residents. There are prominent Democrats, Republicans and independents who have contributed. On the Democratic side, big names in Florida Politics have cut checks, such as former Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, former Miami Mayor and former Florida Democratic Party Chair Manny Diaz, former state Rep. Ben Diamond, former St. Pete City Council members Karl Nurse and Jim Kennedy and former Palm Beach County State Attorney David Aronberg.

On the Republican side, prominent donors have included former U.S. Sen. George Lemieux, former Florida Senate President John McKay, Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano, former state Rep. Frank Farkas, and others.

Campaign finance reports were also due Friday, but they have not yet been added to the city’s database. As of July 10, Crist was leading funding there, too. As of that date, Crist had raised nearly $90,000 to his campaign, while Welch had raised just shy of $75,000.

The fundraising totals come the same day Crist is celebrating his birthday, and it’s been a good week for the former Governor. This week he also earned a key endorsement from Gwendolyn Reese, a prominent community advocate, particularly in the city’s Black community. Her endorsement builds on support Crist has been receiving from the Black community, including from state Sen. Darryl Rouson and several local faith leaders.

Polling released this week also showed Crist growing his lead over Welch. A St. Pete Polls survey taken last week found Crist leading Welch in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup 44% to 28%, a 16-percentage-point advantage that has doubled since previous polling at the end of June.

And Crist is putting his cash advantage to use. St. Pete Shines is running a new ad entitled “Mess” highlighting catastrophic damage resulting from back-to-back hurricanes in 2024 and a mayoral administration “missing in action.”

“After Milton and Helene hit, St. Pete was a mess. Water mains busted, homes destroyed, and City Hall was missing in action,” Crist narrates in the ad. “Recovery funds got delayed. Piles of debris never collected. Construction permits unapproved, and neighborhoods left to fend for themselves.”

The ad ends with a positive message from Crist, who is also a former U.S. Representative.

“We can do better, a lot better. I know that when a hurricane hits, you don’t sit at home, you act. As Mayor, I’ll never abandon our city during a storm. That’s not a promise — that’s the job,” Crist adds.