street. Petersburg, Florida– Former Florida Governor and US Representative. Charlie Crist He seeks another position, this time running for mayor of his hometown of St. Petersburg.
Crist, 69, was a Republican, Democrat, and independent during his political career. He served as Republican governor from 2007 to 2011 and was a Democratic member US House of Representatives for three terms ending in 2022. He also He ran against it to no avail Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022 and previously challenged then-Gov. Rick Scott ran in 2014 as a Democrat in both races.
Now Crist has his sights set on the St. Petersburg City Council and is filing election papers this week.
The current mayor, Ken Welsh, is the first black person to hold that position and run for re-election. Crist supported him in his previous campaign. The position of mayor of St. Petersburg is a nonpartisan election, and about six other candidates are in the race.
St. Petersburg, located across the bay from Tampa, is one of the most progressive cities in Florida and has regularly elected Democrats to various offices. In an interview last fall, Crist pointed to his ties to the district, including his graduation from St. Petersburg High School and his service in Congress representing the district.
“St. Petersburg is a very special place to me. It’s home,” Crist said.
Crist has a long and colorful history in Florida politics. Earlier in his career, Crist was a state senator, education commissioner, and Florida attorney general, all Republicans. He also ran unsuccessfully for the US Senate several times, including in 2010 as an independent against Marco Rubio, now US Secretary of State. He was once known as “Chain Gang Charlie” because he cleaned the highways of prisoners.
While in Congress, Crist twice voted to impeach President Donald Trump during Trump’s first term. In his last race, DeSantis defeated Crist with about 59% of the vote for governor.
For his part, Welch said he is focused on his job as mayor. St. Petersburg has recently experienced a lot of turmoil due to the twins Hurricanes Helen and Milton Hit in 2024, uncertainty following the sale of the city’s Tampa Bay Rays baseball team and the ongoing problem with rising water bills.