St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch texted a donor Monday asking for “a final $10,000″ to fend off former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, while raising the possibility of a later run for governor.
A senior adviser to Welch’s reelection campaign said the comment was an “obvious joke.”
Welch placed a distant second in last week’s primary election, earning 20% of the vote.
The text message, shared with the Tampa Bay Times in a screenshot, shows Welch asking the donor for help “for the last time as mayor (Maybe Governor down the road)!”
The donor, whose company does business with the city, asked to remain anonymous. Florida Politics was the first to report on the text message.
Adrienne Bogen, senior adviser to Welch’s reelection campaign, said in a statement that it was a private fundraising text “with an obvious joke in parentheses, not a campaign launch for governor.”
“If we ever announce a statewide campaign, it won’t be buried in parentheses in a private text message,” she said.
State records show the donor individually and through their company donated to Welch’s 2021 campaign for mayor and made more contributions last year.
“I voted for Ken last time,” the former donor said in a text to the Times. “This time I’ll be voting for Charlie. I care about the city’s future.”
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