Aside from the obvious \u2014 that Crist is a Democrat and vocally opposed to Donald Trump, the father of the modern MAGA movement \u2014 Webb\u2019s pontification has a glaring problem: This strategy has been tried before, and the results have been catastrophic.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s lay out some facts right out of the gate. Crist is a former Republican, yes. But he\u2019s been a Democrat since 2012, 14 years ago. He served in Congress as a Democrat. He also ran for Governor as a Democrat. Webb supported him in that race.<\/p>\n
And yes, as the Times article outlines, a lot of Republicans have donated to Crist\u2019s campaign for Mayor this year. Does that make him a Republican? Does it make him MAGA? Certainly not.<\/p>\n
What it does is remind St. Pete voters that the Mayor\u2019s race is nonpartisan, because the city\u2019s top elected leader must represent all constituents, not just those with a \u201cD\u201d or an \u201cR\u201d behind their name (or those who choose to forgo party affiliation). Many of the Republicans financially supporting Crist\u2019s bid for Mayor opposed him as Governor. This is a normal phenomenon, because politics is not one size fits all.<\/p>\n But now she is attempting to paint him as a \u201cMAGA-backed\u201d candidate, in hopes of propping up her preferred choice<\/a> for Mayor: Welch.<\/p>\n Webb either has a short memory, or a selective one, because this tactic has been tried before in recent election cycles, and in both instances, it failed miserably. The most recent example pointedly involved the mayoral candidate Webb is backing.<\/p>\n In 2021, facing a credible challenge from former St. Petersburg City Council Member Darden Rice, Welch was called out by Rice\u2019s campaign<\/a> for accepting donations from Republican donors. Mailers<\/a>\u00a0supporting Rice and opposing Welch attempted to tie Welch to Trump.<\/p>\n The message was widely panned as ridiculous. For example, Allendale United Methodist Pastor Andy Oliver, who supported Welch in 2021 but has since become critical, called Rice out for the attack, arguing she had taken more money from Republican donors than Welch had. Rice was at the time, and still is, considered a progressive Democrat. No one would dream of accusing her of being tied to MAGA politics. Yet that\u2019s what she did to Welch.<\/p>\n Rice went on to lose the Primary in 2021 and, ironically, it was Republican Robert Blackmon who advanced to a runoff with Welch. Rice had previously supported Blackmon in his bid for City Council, making her criticism extra rich. The MAGA attacks on Welch were widely blamed for Rice\u2019s electoral downfall that year.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s not all.<\/p>\n Even before that, in 2019, the campaign for Democrat Orlando Acosta attempted to tie its opponent in a race for St. Pete City Council \u2014 then-incumbent Ed Montanari \u2014 to Trump. Montanari is ACTUALLY a Republican, yet the critique was widely dismissed<\/a> as tone-deaf. Even Rice rejected it as ridiculous. Why? Because City Council, like the Mayor\u2019s seat, is nonpartisan.<\/p>\n Acosta was always the underdog in that race, but the attempt to paint Montanari, a celebrated moderate at the time, as a MAGA rubber stamp backfired, and Acosta went on to lose the race<\/a> to Montanari by 8 percentage points.<\/p>\n And now here we are, several years later, and the pattern is emerging yet again.<\/p>\n I get it. Trump is a powerful political figure. For Republicans, his support often means success. For Democrats, support for the current President is the kiss of death. In a Midterm year expected to favor anti-Trump sentiment \u2014 vis-\u00e0-vis, Democrats \u2014 the MAGA card will undoubtedly be successful in some races.<\/p>\n But as history has proven, playing the MAGA card in St. Pete municipal races, against people who have zero affiliation or allegiance to Trump, is a political liability.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n In no world could Crist be painted with the MAGA brush. Crist was nominated by former Democratic President Joe Biden \u2014 who defeated Trump in 2020 \u2014 as Ambassador to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization, an agency under the auspices of the United Nations. While that nomination was ultimately never confirmed, it was a nomination from a Democratic President nonetheless.<\/p>\n Further, Biden participated in a fundraiser for Crist in Miami during his 2022 gubernatorial campaign. In 2021, Crist called for invoking the 25th Amendment<\/a> to the U.S. Constitution to remove Trump from office. That\u2019s not very MAGA.<\/p>\n Crist\u2019s disdain for Trump is mutual. Trump once called Crist a \u201cpuppet\u201d of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s policy. As a U.S. Representative and candidate for Governor, Crist has supported countless policies that are antithetical to the Trump mindset.<\/p>\n Where the MAGA brand derides various LGBTQ+ protections and supportive policies, Crist has been an ally. Several LGBTQ+ advocacy groups backed Crist for Governor in 2022<\/a>. And in that campaign Crist vowed that, if elected, he would \u201csign an executive order to protect LGBTQ Floridians from Discrimination.\u201d He also said he\u2019d repeal the state\u2019s controversial \u201cDon\u2019t Say Gay\u201d law. That\u2019s not very MAGA.<\/p>\n A little Googling will turn up countless other examples of policy support highlighting just how not-MAGA Crist is.<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the thing: It doesn\u2019t even matter.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PinpointAd_728x90.jpeg\")
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