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<\/a><\/p>\nThat recipient is a past major donor to Welch\u2019s 2021 campaign and a current donor to his re-election. They received a text declaring \u201cwe\u2019re in the runoff, and we\u2019re going to win,\u201d adding that Welch is \u201casking for your help \u2014 for the last time as Mayor.\u201d But what really sticks out is the parenthetical that follows.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Maybe Governor down the road)!\u201d<\/p>\n
Usually, parentheses within quotation marks indicate an addition that wasn\u2019t a direct quote. In this case, the parenthetical IS the direct quote. Welch just declared to a former supporter that he might someday run for Governor.<\/p>\n
Welch\u2019s campaign dismissed the declaration as a joke.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a private fundraising text with an obvious joke in parentheses, not a campaign launch for governor. Mayor Welch is focused on winning this runoff and serving St. Petersburg. If we ever announce a statewide campaign, it won\u2019t be buried in parentheses in a private text message,\u201d campaign spokesperson and Chair of Welch\u2019s political committee Adrienne Bogen said in a statement.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s more, and I\u2019ll get to that in just a second, but let\u2019s unpack this doozie so far.<\/p>\n Welch, after having nearly 80% of the city\u2019s Primary voters cast a ballot against him, facing a runoff election in November where it\u2019s more likely voters will give him a pink slip rather than another four years, is already plotting his next political move.<\/p>\n This is a man who has an all but impossible path to victory. He narrowly managed to stay alive in the Mayor\u2019s race last week. And what\u2019s ironic is, the reason he wasn\u2019t defeated in the Primary is likely, or at least in part, because so many people thought Welch was doing a bad job as Mayor that he drew five (5!!!) opponents who all ran to at least some degree on the premise that City Hall needs a change.<\/p>\n The Tampa Bay Times over the weekend published an article whose headline posed an important question: \u201cCan Welch bounce back?<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n The article laid out the myriad challenges facing the incumbent Mayor. The only sources quoted in the article supporting Welch\u2019s chances were his fiercest defenders, including one who is a family member. Everyone else agreed there is little to no path for Welch. One of his defeated opponents, Maria Scruggs, told the outlet voters cast their ballots last week \u201csimply wanting Mayor Welch gone.\u201d<\/p>\n The Times paraphrased Lee Bryant, a former Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association President who voted for City Council Member Brandi Gabbard in the mayoral Primary, as saying there is a palpable lack of enthusiasm around Welch that will be hard to change.<\/p>\n Asked what his path was, Welch himself told the outlet he wasn\u2019t concerned, that he\u2019ll produce plans where front-runner Charlie Crist, a former Governor, has not, adding that the runoff is \u201ca new game.\u201d<\/p>\n Retired University of South Florida political science professor Darryl Paulson wasn\u2019t buying it.<\/p>\n \u201cIf that\u2019s his approach, look in the mirror and ask yourself, \u2018What is your strategy?\u2019 Because voters don\u2019t seem to know,\u201d Paulson told the outlet. \u201cBecause if they did know what your strategy was, you\u2019d receive more than 20% of the vote.\u201d<\/p>\n What Paulson didn\u2019t directly say, but mostly implied, is that Welch\u2019s hubris is getting in his way. That\u2019s something we\u2019ve heard from sources all over the city, and some from outside it. Welch has flippantly dismissed complaints about his absenteeism at City Hall, his decision to leave the Emergency Operations Center during Hurricane Ian, his administration\u2019s response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and even the theft of more than $200,000 from the now-closed political committee that was supporting his re-election campaign at the time. The general consensus is that Welch simply refuses to admit there might be a problem.<\/p>\n The fundraising text reiterates that.<\/p>\n First, how can someone be plotting a run for statewide office when they are, right this very second and for the next more than two months, fighting for their political life? How can someone whose executive job performance has been so questionable they drew five opponents and only made the runoff for re-election with less than 21% of the vote think voters will instead want to give them a promotion? The opposition mailers write themselves.<\/p>\n Second, there\u2019s more to the text.<\/p>\n \u201cCharlie spent most of his $2 million to make the general, so we\u2019re close to a level playing field going in,\u201d it read.<\/p>\n This is great. Reassure supporters capable of writing big checks that you\u2019re a worthy investment by A: pretending to be operating from a position of strength; B: speculating a future run for higher office; and C: arguing there\u2019s a \u201clevel playing field\u201d when it comes to on-hand cash.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve already dissected the position of strength. Someone has that, but it ain\u2019t Welch. The run for higher office is just silly talk. At last count the GOP had a stranglehold over voter registration in Florida and a Democrat, which Welch is, hasn\u2019t won the Governor\u2019s mansion since Lawton Chiles and Buddy MacKay left office in 1999.<\/p>\n So that leaves us with this level playing field business.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure what Mayor Welch\u2019s definition of \u201clevel playing field\u201d is, but I am certain it\u2019s not the same as mine. When I hear that phrase in relation to campaign finance, I think 10%, maybe 20% difference. One candidate has $100,000, the other $80,000. Something like that.<\/p>\n Well, one candidate does have $80,000 (Welch), and the other does indeed have six figures (Crist). But the field is decidedly not level<\/a>. Crist\u2019s last campaign finance reports showed him with more than $700,000 still on hand. To put it differently, Crist has nearly nine times more cash on hand than Welch.<\/p>\n And the uneven terrain is about more than just financial resources.<\/p>\n Another Tampa Bay Times report analyzing election outcomes in all 84 St. Petersburg precincts found Crist finishing no worse than second place in all of them. Welch, meanwhile, fared no better than third place<\/a> in 70% of the city\u2019s precincts. And while Welch carried the city\u2019s majority minority districts, he did so in some cases with Crist nipping at his heels.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Sunburn_FloridaPoliticsWebsite_728x905186-scaled-e1740018793631.jpg\")
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