St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch (L) and former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will compete in a runoff that wraps on Nov. 3, 2026. Credit: MayorKenWelch / charliecristfl / Facebook
Despite being out fundraised four to one, incumbent St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch is headed to a runoff against Former Florida governor Charlie Crist.
The runoff happens as part of this fall’s general election, which wraps on Election Day, Nov. 3.
Crist—who’s come under fire for his connections to controversial figures and his time spent in Minnesota in the wake of back-to-back hurricanes—earned 35% of the vote as the Florida primary wrapped last night.
Welch, facing scrutiny over his own response to the 2024 storms, was elected as St. Petersburg’s first Black mayor in 2021 and earned 20.5% of the vote.
Former St. Pete Fire Chief Jim Large finished third (18%) with City Councilwoman Brandi Gabbard (17%), former St. Pete NAACP president Maria Scruggs (5%) and former Shore Acres Civic Association president Kevin Batdorf (3%) rounding things out.
Crist raised more than $2 million for the primary while Welch raked in less than $500,000.
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This article appears in August 13 – 19, 2026.
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Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief…
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