Charlie Crist wins St. Pete mayoral race

So the city of St. Pete is getting a new mayor. What a win tonight for Charlie Crist, the former governor and congressman beating incumbent Ken Welch. FOX 13's Blake Devine is with the Welch campaign at their watch party, while FOX 13's Jennifer Vegas is with the Crist campaign, so we want to start with her tonight. Jennifer, I'm sure they're still celebrating, huh? Yeah, it was a nonstop party here at the Chris party with champagne flowing and feel good music. And just 30 minutes after the polls closed, Charlie Crist went straight from campaigning to celebrating. He entered the grand ballroom here at the Birchwood with his fiance and his 94-year-old father and beelined for the stage and provided a victory speech ahead of the race even being called. But now with 100 percent of the precincts reported, it is now confirmed that Charlie Charlie Crist took 62% of the votes in comparison to Ken Welch with roughly 38%. Now, celebrations were absolutely had here. The room was filled with supporters. And the one thing this campaign maintained was it doesn't matter your political party, skin color, or income. Charlie Crist says he's here for everyone. And that is who showed up here tonight, including current and former local leaders like Rick Baker, former St. Pete mayor, Florida State Senator Daryl Rousen, and LaSalle. Annette Hanowitz, who is the chair of the St. Pete City Council. Now, with Chris having such an extensive political resume, the big question for many people was, why Mayor of St. Pete now? After his victory speech, he explained. Well, I've always loved St. Petersburg, and I love her that much more tonight. I mean, she's been very good to me. These are the people I grew up with at Bay Vista Elementary, at St. Pete High, and these kind people elected me their mayor, and I am truly humbled by it and enormously grateful. Humble and kind, like Tim McGraw says in his song. Now affordability has been at the forefront of his campaign. His proposal was slashing the city's property tax rate, which he says would put about $15 million back into the pockets of residents and small businesses each year. But now with Amendment 3 passing tonight, that idea has conceded. And we asked him tonight what his first order of business is now that he is the mayor elect. And he says it's unifying the people of St. Petersburg. And another immediate goal is Is assessing whether he can bring the raise back to St. Pete And with that, I want to introduce Fox 13's Blake Devine, who is live outside the Ken Welch Watch Party, which ended a little bit early. Now, Blake, what was Ken Welch's final parting words to his supporters? Jennifer, a disappointing defeat for Ken Welch tonight. He obviously conceded the St. Pete mayoral race shortly after the polls closed, just a matter of minutes before Charlie Crist took the stage. We're obviously here at the historic Manhattan Casino, and you see it. It's all dark and shut down. They closed the party early, and he got out of there early. He did not answer any questions from the media tonight. Obviously, he did lose. In a landslide margin, we have a lot of the early precinct polling, and they show that as of right now, we're about 62% of the vote was given to Chris compared to just 38% for Welch. Tonight, he took the podium in front of family, friends, campaign supporters, acknowledging defeat. Welch revealed he'd already left Chris a voicemail, wishing him well. He also reflected on his time as St. Pete's first black mayor, highlighting his affordable housing initiatives, the reopening of Tropicana Field, and the renovation of the Manhattan Casino, which is where this event was tonight. Welch also made it crystal clear he plans on staying actively involved in his hometown. And as we move into this new season. I'm not going anywhere. I'm a third generation St. Pete native. And we're going to continue to honor the city's history and the promises made from the gas plant to the Woodson Museum. I'm here. And Welch described his time as mayor as a blessing, thanking St. Pete residents for the opportunity to serve his hometown. He also pointed out the approval of the city's $600 million stormwater bond, which was a major priority throughout his administration. Now, Welch still has two months left in his tenure as mayor before Charlie Crist will be sworn in on January 7th. Mark Alley, back to you. Okay, Blake Devine live for us there in St. Pete. Blake, thank you.