St. Petersburg voters are heading to the polls on Tuesday to choose the city’s next mayor, with former Florida governor Charlie Crist among the challengers facing Mayor Ken Welch in his bid for re-election. Election results are expected shortly after polls close at 7 p.m.
The race is crowded enough that the winner may not be known on Tuesday night. If no candidate gets 50% of the vote, the contest will move to a runoff, keeping Welch’s re-election effort alive against Crist, Kevin Batdorf, Brandi Gabbard, Jim Large and Marla Lynne-Scruggs.
Crist’s entry gives the race a profile few local contests get. He is the best-known name in the field, but that does not guarantee a clean finish. Welch is trying to hold the job he already has, while the rest of the field is trying to deny him a majority and force the race into another round.
Information and election results from the Florida Division of Election are expected to help sort out whether Tuesday’s vote settles the contest or sends St. Petersburg into a runoff. That makes the threshold as important as the count itself: 50% ends it, anything less keeps it going.
For now, the race comes down to one question with a short fuse attached to it. Crist is in the field, Welch is seeking another term, and the first answer should arrive soon after 7 p.m.
