A political committee for former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who is eyeing a mayoral bid for his hometown, raised almost three times more in two months thanincumbent Ken Welch’s yearlong tally.

St. Pete Shines, a political committee created in October to gauge support for Crist’s potential run for St. Petersburg mayor, reported that it raised $725,145 from Oct. 28 to Dec. 31.

“I’m overwhelmed and humbled all at the same time,” Crist said. “I’m enormously grateful for all of that and all the people that have shown such kind support.”

However, $336,458 of that sum came from Friends of Charlie Crist, a political committee created when Crist unsuccessfully challenged Gov. Ron DeSantis in a 2022 bid to return to that office.

In about the same time period, Welch raised $48,225. His political committee has raised $282,800 since it was created a year ago.

By comparison, Welch raised $801,012 from 2019 through winning his first mayoral election in 2021.

This time, Welch’s political committee has even less cash on hand. An accounting report released Monday disclosed more than $200,000 in unauthorized transactions between August and October. Its chairperson, Adrienne Bogen, accused its treasurer of both past and present political committees of misspending the funds.

Neither Crist nor Welch have officially filed to run for mayor.

Donors to St. Pete Shines include George LeMieux, Crist’s former chief of staff who turned on Crist after he changed party affiliationfrom Republican to Democrat; former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer; Charles Bronfman, former owner of the Montreal Expos whose son led a charge for the Rays to split home games between St. Petersburg and Montreal; and Tampa Bay Buccaneers legends Jimmie Giles and Derrick Brooks.

Retired U.S. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia gave $10,000 through his Country Roads PAC and Tallahassee-based lobbying firm Ballard Partners gave $25,000. A political committee named We All Should Help gave $45,000 and Barbara A. Stiefel, the Coral Gables heiress of the Stiefel Medicinal Soap Co. fortune, gave $50,000.

Local donors include former state Rep. Ben Diamond, who was exploring his own run for mayor through polling last summer; attorney Matt Weidner, who has railed against the city for a water billing fiasco in which residents received hefty unexpected assessments; and Trevor Burgess, a private flood insurance company CEO who also donated $25,000 to Welch’s committee in September.

Oil executive Bud Risser and local investor Irv Cohen also donated to Crist’s political committee. They both funded a poll assessing public support for building a new Rays stadium and other city issues in 2024.