Charlie Christ wins the St. Petersburg mayoral race

ST. PETERSBURG — Charlie Crist is back in government, this time at the local level following his victory over incumbent Ken Welch Tuesday to become St. Petersburg’s next mayor. The former Republican governor-turned-Democratic U.S. House member won the nonpartisan race easily, 62%-38%.

Speaking at his election party in downtown St. Pete, Crist said people came up to him on the campaign trail to ask why as a former governor he would run for mayor.

“Cause it’s home,” he said. “It’s [my] hometown. And you know, home is where the heart is.”

Crist is one of the rare public officials to become mayor of a city after leading a state as governor. The most notable member of that club is Jerry Brown, who became mayor of Oakland in 1998 after serving as California governor from 1974 through 1982. (He served as governor again between 2010 and 2018).

Another former governor-turned-mayor is John Carney in Delaware. He served as governor there from 2016 to 2024 and was elected mayor of Wilmington in November 2024.

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo failed in his attempt to become mayor of New York City in 2025.

Crist’s victory marks another remarkable turn in a political career unlike anyone else in Florida politics. He has served on and off in public office going back more than three decades, representing both political parties. He was a Republican when he first won a seat representing parts of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties in the Florida Senate in 1992. He was reelected to that seat in 1994.

In 1998, he suffered his first defeat, losing badly to Democrat Bob Graham in a bid for U.S. Senate.  He rebounded, winning election as Florida education commissioner in 2000 (when it was still a statewide elected position), and then Florida attorney general in 2002.

In 2006, he became Florida’s governor, defeating Tampa-area Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Davis. For the first three years of his tenure, he enjoyed high approval ratings. But his literal embrace of Democratic President Barack Obama and his economic stimulus plan put Crist on the wrong side with Republicans.

His plan to run as the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in 2010 hit a buzzsaw when former Florida Speaker of the House Marco Rubio entered the race. Realizing he couldn’t beat Rubio in the Republican primary, Crist left the party and ran as an independent, losing in the general election to Rubio by nearly 20 points in a three-way race.

He was still a political independent when he spoke during the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina in 2012, announcing his endorsement of Barack Obama. Later that year, he became a registered Democrat.

In 2014, he was Democratic nominee for governor in Florida, losing by a single percentage point to Republican Rick Scott, 48%-47%.

In 2016, after congressional redistricting made the Pinellas County-based Congressional District 13 more Democratic-leaning, Crist took on then-Republican incumbent David Jolly and won a seat in Congress, where he served for six years.

In 2021, Crist announced he would run for governor as a Democrat against Republican Ron DeSantis. It did not go well, with DeSantis winning by 19 points in November 2022.

Following that defeat, Crist began spending significant time living in Minnesota with his fiancée, Chelsea Grimes. He moved back to St. Petersburg last year to qualify for the mayoral race,  announcing in the spring that he would challenge Welch, who was elected in 2021.

He immediately began raising large amounts of campaign cash and took in the most votes in the primary in August against five opponents, winning 35% of the vote. Welch came in second with 21%, separating the two to compete in the general election.

“This is a race that I think is the most unifying experience politically I’ve ever had,” Crist said Tuesday night. “As you know, it’s a nonpartisan race. And I can’t tell you how sweet that’s been. … Because, as you all know, it’s a little toxic out there, politically. But we have Republicans, we have Democrats, we have independents, we have Black, we have white, we have everything in this room, and it’s a great thing. St. Petersburg comes together.”

Crist will be sworn into office in early January.