Crist, 69, filed the paperwork this week to seek St. Petersburg City Hall, according to an Associated Press report. St. Petersburg is Crist’s hometown, and the nonpartisan mayor’s race is set with the incumbent, Ken Welch, also seeking another term.
Crist has held office under different party labels during his political career. The AP reported that he served as Florida’s Republican governor from 2007 to 2011 and later served in the U.S. House as a Democrat for three terms, ending in 2022. Crist also unsuccessfully ran for governor against Republican Ron DeSantis in 2022, and previously challenged Gov. Rick Scott in 2014 as a Democrat.
In an interview last fall, Crist pointed to his personal ties to the city, including graduating from St. Petersburg High School and representing the area in Congress. “St. Petersburg is a very special place to me. It’s home,” Crist said, according to the AP report.
The AP said that the St. Petersburg mayor’s office is nonpartisan and that around a half dozen other candidates are in the race. Welch became the city’s first Black mayor, and the report said Crist endorsed him in Welch’s earlier campaign.
Crist’s political background includes additional roles in state government beyond his time as governor and member of Congress. The AP reported that he previously served as a state senator, education commissioner and Florida’s attorney general while he was a Republican, and that he unsuccessfully sought the U.S. Senate multiple times, including a 2010 independent bid against Marco Rubio.
In Congress, the AP reported, Crist voted twice to impeach President Donald Trump during Trump’s first term. The report also recalled that DeSantis defeated Crist in their 2022 governor race, with DeSantis winning about 59% of the vote.
For his part, the AP said Welch has indicated he is focused on his job as mayor. The report described recent turbulence in St. Petersburg and the broader Tampa Bay area, including twin hurricanes Helene and Milton striking in 2024, continuing uncertainty after the sale of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team, and a continuing issue with high water bills.