St. Petersburg mayoral candidate Charlie Crist raised more than $330,000 from the beginning of April through the end of May, bringing his total haul to more than $1.6 million.
The fundraising activity includes nearly $283,000 raised to Crist’s affiliated political committee, St. Pete Shines, and more than $54,000 raised to his official campaign. More than 150 donors have contributed to Crist’s campaign since he officially entered the race in late April, according to officials with the political committee and campaign, respectively.
“I don’t take a single contribution for granted, especially in this economy,” Crist said of his latest fundraising haul. “That’s why I am more grateful than ever for the generous support of my friends and neighbors.”
Michelle Todd Schorsch, who is overseeing Crist’s affiliated political committee, said the campaign’s “momentum is undeniable.”
“With a significant cash on hand advantage; continued strong fundraising; and a bipartisan coalition of small-dollar donors, political committees and businesses, it is clear St. Pete residents and stakeholders are hungry for new leadership. Charlie Crist has the experience the city deserves, and voters are taking notice,” she said.
With the mayoral Primary drawing closer — early voting begins Aug. 8 and the deadline to request a mail ballot is Aug. 6 — St. Pete Shines and the Crist campaign are making a six-figure investment into restoring vote-by-mail requests to levels before state law required more frequent requests.
The Tampa Bay Times reported last month that vote-by-mail requests are down across the Tampa Bay region, with some areas seeing requests plummet by as much as half after a 2021 law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis required voters to request mail ballots every two years, after each General Election.
A copy of a flier obtained by Florida Politics includes a QR code recipients can scan to be taken directly to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections vote-by-mail request page and a phone number to call to request a mail ballot for those who prefer not to make the request online.
The flier notes that mail ballot requests expire after every General Election, meaning voters must request them each election. It also assures voters that “voting by mail is secure and convenient,” noting that the ballot “can be tracked and securely returned.” The flier also includes the vote-by-mail request deadline, the early voting dates (Aug. 8-15) and Election Day (Aug. 18.)
“Throughout my political career, I’ve made it my top priority to ensure everyone has the opportunity to vote, which is our most sacred right,” Crist said, pointing to one of his most defining acts during his tenure as the state’s chief executive, restoring voting rights to some 155,000 Floridians with prior felony convictions. It was the largest voting rights restoration by a Governor in Florida history.
Crist pushed for automatic clemency for ex-felons who had completed their sentences, a fix to a Civil War era state law banning felons from voting for life.
Campaign finance reports for St. Pete Shines will be available by June 10, the reporting deadline for all fundraising and expenditures from April 1 through May 31. His campaign finance report is due June 19, covering fundraising and expenditures from April 1 through June 12.
Incumbent Mayor Ken Welch has been significantly trailing Crist in fundraising activity. Neither Welch’s campaign nor its affiliated political committee, St. Pete Progress, have filed campaign reports covering activity beyond March, but Welch raised just under $220,000 in the first quarter of 2026 between the two funding sources. He had less than $193,000 on hand at the time. During the same period, Crist more than doubled Welch’s fundraising and had $1.1 million left on hand.
The campaign between the two men — as well as a field of four other candidates — will take further shape once all campaign finance activity is reported for the most recent period.
Welch will likely need to post big numbers or risk further critique about a campaign in financial trouble.
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Ed. Note: Michelle Todd Schorsch is the Chair of St. Pete Shines, a political committee expected to back Crist for St. Petersburg Mayor. Todd Schorsch is married to Peter Schorsch, the publisher of Florida Politics.