{"id":386369,"date":"2026-08-31T19:04:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T19:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/386369\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T19:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T19:04:08","slug":"charlie-crist-challenges-ken-welch-to-televised-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/386369\/","title":{"rendered":"Charlie Crist challenges Ken Welch to televised debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charlie Crist is challenging St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch to a televised debate as the two prepare to face off in November.<\/p>\n

With just over two months before the Nov. 3 General Election where Welch faces a runoff against Crist \u2014 and less than two months before early voting begins \u2014 Crist argues voters deserve to hear directly from the candidates in a forum accessible to all.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur vote is our most sacred right as American citizens, and casting it should be a decision weighed carefully. That means every voter should have the opportunity to hear directly from myself and Mayor Welch as we seek your vote to lead our city over the next four years,\u201d Crist said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn-person forums often have limited attendance, while a televised debate can be accessed by all voters and other residents and stakeholders in the comfort of their own living rooms. This information is too important to share one room at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crist\u2019s challenge also came with suggestions, including his recommendation that a designated representative from each mayoral campaign be assigned to facilitate the debate. A local television station would then be agreed upon to host.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Crist also suggested jointly establishing debate rules and procedures, identifying a date and time for the debate and working with the chosen television outlet to facilitate all other logistics.<\/p>\n

Crist\u2019s challenge comes after he declined participation in two events, citing affordability issues, as those events required an admission fee. Instead, Crist hosted free telephone town hall events open to all at no cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a former state leader, I stood with the people of Florida on the things that mattered most to them, ensuring adequate environmental protection, competitive teacher pay and a tax structure that kept more of residents\u2019 hard earned money in their wallets while still meeting our state\u2019s robust needs,\u201d Crist added.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I\u2019m ready to stand with the people of St. Pete to protect their way of life and ease some of the cost burdens impacting our city. But first, I\u2019m prepared to make my case. I hope Mayor Welch will join me in committing to a meaningful debate where voters can gather the information needed to make informed decisions at the ballot box.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crist was the first place finisher in the Primary for Mayor earlier this month, finishing with more than 35% of the vote to Welch\u2019s less than 21%. In addition to his nearly 15-percentage-point lead over Welch in the Primary, Crist has established himself as a front-runner in the race, with a significant cash-on-hand advantage over the incumbent and polling that suggests an easy win in November.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the most recent campaign finance reporting<\/a> period covering Aug. 15-21, Crist\u2019s affiliated political committee, St. Pete Shines<\/a>, raised $41,300. Welch\u2019s PC, St. Petersburg Progress<\/a>, raised just $1,000 in the same period. Crist\u2019s cash-on-hand total for his PC is now nearly $275,000. Welch\u2019s PC retains less than $9,000, a difference of about $266,000.<\/p>\n

Campaign finance reports<\/a> for the candidates\u2019 official campaigns are not due until Sept. 4 and will include financial activity covering Aug. 14-28. As of Aug. 14, Crist also had a cash advantage in campaign funding, with more than $65,000 on hand. Welch carried just about $23,000.<\/p>\n

Overall, Crist has been a prolific fundraiser this election cycle. His committee has raised more than $1.9 million to date, while his campaign has brought in more than $132,000. Welch\u2019s PC has raised nearly $407,000, while his campaign has brought in less than $64,000.<\/p>\n

Polls ahead of the Primary showed him with a commanding lead among the entire field of six candidates, and a heavy favorite in a General Election matchup against Welch. A St. Pete Polls survey taken in late July found\u00a0Crist leading Welch decisively<\/a>, at 45% to 30%, with 25% still undecided under that scenario.<\/p>\n

With the field now narrowed to two, it\u2019s likely some voters who had been undecided have now settled on a favorite candidate. Endorsements since the Primary could also help. Crist has secured endorsements from two of the four candidates defeated in the Aug. 18 Primary: Maria Scruggs<\/a> and Kevin Batdorf<\/a>. Jim Large has declined to endorse a candidate, while Brandi Gabbard has not yet indicated whether she\u2019ll endorse a candidate.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Ed. note:\u00a0Michelle Todd Schorsch\u00a0is the Chair of St. Pete Shines, a political committee backing Crist for St. Petersburg Mayor. Todd Schorsch is married to\u00a0Peter Schorsch, the publisher of Florida Politics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Charlie Crist is challenging St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch to a televised debate as the two prepare to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[3347,2346,202,204,3303,18455,151626,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-386369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-charlie-crist","tag-ken-welch","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-mayors-race","tag-st-pete-mayoral-election","tag-st-pete-mayoral-runoff","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}