Ken Welch brings in just under $220K in Q1, but still falls further behind Charlie Crist in fundraising

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch raised just under $220,000 in the first quarter of 2026, leaving him so far underfunded for his re-election bid this year.

Welch brought in just over $182,000 through his political committee, St. Petersburg Progress, and another nearly $37,000 for his campaign. Between the two accounts, Welch entered April with just under $193,000 on hand.

But $85,000 of the funds brought in through his political committee in Q1 were transferred from a previous political committee supporting Welch. The St. Petersburg Progress PAC lists the transfer as coming from Pelican PAC, the political committee that supported Welch in his first mayoral election four years ago.

But the state revoked the PAC’s registration in late 2024 after a series of warnings and fines for not properly filing required documents. Further, it is actually Welch’s second political committee, the Pelican Political Action Committee, that made the transfer, not Pelican PAC, according to committee expenditure records. Welch abandoned his second committee after a former Treasurer allegedly stole more than $200,000 from it.

In any case, without the transfer, Welch raised just over $97,000 in new money through his current political committee and about $135,000 overall.

Welch’s total fundraising and overall cash on hand are important to note because it’s far less than what Welch’s top expected competition raised.

The St. Pete Shines committee supporting former Gov. Charlie Crist, who is expected to enter the race this month, raised nearly $500,000 in the first quarter and has brought in more than $1.2 million since its inception. The committee retains $1.1 million. Welch’s cash on hand is nearly $1 million less.

It’s worth noting that about $336,000 of the St. Pete Shines committee’s funds came from Crist’s previous committee, Friends of Charlie Crist, in the fourth quarter of 2025. But even still, St. Pete Shines has significantly outraised Welch and has an exponential cash on hand advantage.

Welch’s top first quarter contributors include SCG Hospitality, the Tampa-based investment firm controlled by Tampa Bay Buccaneers co-owner Bryan Glazer. The firm donated $25,000 to Welch’s committee. The Tampa Bay Rays contributed another $25,000 while its CEO, Ken Babby, cut a check for the maximum $1,000 allowed to his campaign account. Developer John Catsimatidis contributed $15,000 to Welch’s committee, as well as another $10,000 from his wife, Margo Catsimatidis.

Welch’s committee spent about $15,000 in the first quarter, including about $9,000 to AB Strategy, the firm run by finance consultant Alain Berinstain.

Welch’s campaign, meanwhile, took in maxed $1,000 contributions from a number of individuals and entities. Notable contributors include, among others, real estate executive Jay Beyroyti; Welch’s mother, Alletha Welch; developer Jonathan Stanton; Keane Reese Gerdes PA, the law firm where former St. Pete City Council member Charlie Gerdes is a partner; real estate investor Larry Feldman and his son, Mack Feldman; and local hotelier and restaurateur Chuck Prather.

Campaign expenses included $2,500 paid to Tennessee-based CounterPoint Messaging for ad production, about $5,000 to MDW Communications in Lake Worth for communications consulting, and $2,500 to St. Pete Athletic for Welch’s campaign kickoff.

Several other candidates are also challenging Welch, though none have raised significant funds. Former St. Pete Fire Chief Jim Large was the top fundraiser among the remaining field of candidates, at more than $59,000 raised in the first quarter.

St. Petersburg City Council member Brandi Gabbard was next with a little over $4,000 raised, followed by Maria Scruggs, who raised $2,555 to her campaign account. Combined with previous fundraising to her campaign and affiliated political committee, The Shelynn PAC, Scruggs has raised about $25,500. Kevin Batdorf, the former Shore Acres Neighborhood Association President, has raised just $1,305.

Paul Congemi, a former mayoral candidate who made national headlines for telling an opponent to “go back to Africa,” has not yet filed his first-quarter finance report.

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Ed. Note: Michelle Todd Schorsch is the Chair of St. Pete Shines, a political committee expected to back Crist for St. Petersburg Mayor. Todd Schorsch is married to Peter Schorsch, the publisher of Florida Politics.