Charlie Crist was among the challengers to Mayor Ken Welch as St. Petersburg voters were scheduled to choose the city’s next mayor on Tuesday. Welch was seeking re-election against Crist, Kevin Batdorf, Brandi Gabbard, Jim Large and Marla Lynne-Scruggs.
The race would go to a runoff if no candidate received 50% of the vote. Election results were expected shortly after polls closed at 7 p.m.
Ken Welch in St Petersburg
Welch entered Tuesday as the incumbent, and Crist was one of the named challengers pressing for a first-round win. The ballot gave voters six options for mayor, which meant the 50% threshold could decide whether the contest ended on Tuesday or continued into a runoff.
That made the count after polls closed the first immediate test for the race. If one candidate crossed 50%, the city would have a winner from the first round. If not, voters would be back in a runoff between the leading contenders.
Tuesday and 7 p.m.
Polls were set to close at 7 p.m., and results were expected shortly after. For voters, that meant the first read on the race would come the same evening, with the decisive question centered on whether any candidate cleared the majority mark.
Welch’s re-election bid and Crist’s challenge were the main names in the race, but the ballot also included Batdorf, Gabbard, Large and Lynne-Scruggs. The outcome after Tuesday’s vote would determine whether St. Petersburg had a new mayor immediately or needed a second round.
