Former Florida governor Charlie Crist is running for St. Petersburg mayor

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Former Florida governor and U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist is seeking yet another office, this time running for mayor of his hometown of St. Petersburg.

Crist, 69, has been a Republican, a Democrat and an independent during his political career. He served as a Republican governor from 2007 to 2011 and was a Democratic member of the U.S. House for three terms, ending in 2022. He also unsuccessfully ran against Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022 and previously challenged then-Gov. Rick Scott in 2014, as a Democrat in both races.

Now Crist has his sights set on St. Petersburg City Hall and filed election paperwork this week.

The current mayor, Ken Welch, is the first Black person in the job and is running for reelection. Crist endorsed him in his earlier campaign. The St. Petersburg mayor’s office is a nonpartisan election, and around a half dozen other candidates are in the race.

St. Petersburg, across the bay from Tampa, is one of Florida's more progressive cities and has regularly elected Democrats to various offices. In an interview last fall, Crist pointed out his ties to the area, including his graduation from St. Petersburg High School and his service in Congress representing the area.

“St. Petersburg is a very special place to me. It’s home,” Crist said.

Crist has a long and colorful history in Florida politics. Earlier in his career, Crist was a state senator, education commissioner and Florida's attorney general, all as a Republican. He also unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate multiple times, including in 2010 as an independent against Marco Rubio, now the U.S. Secretary of State. And he was once known as “chain-gang Charlie” for having inmates clean highways.

While in Congress, Crist voted twice to impeach President Donald Trump during Trump's first term. In his most recent race, DeSantis defeated Crist with about 59% of the vote for governor.

For his part, Welch has said that he is focused on his job as mayor. St. Petersburg has lately endured much tumult, with twin Hurricanes Helene and Milton striking in 2024, uncertainty following the sale of the city's Tampa Bay Rays baseball team and a continuing issue with high water bills.