Kelly Hayes
St. Petersburg City Council member Darden Rice has raised $97,599 in the first month of her Mayoral campaign, she announced Tuesday.
Rice’s campaign collected $68,224, and the political committee Friends of Darden Rice received $29,375.
Financial documents outlining the specifics of Rice’s latest fundraising haul are not yet publicly available. The campaign provided only fundraising totals.
To date, Rice has raised more than $320,000 between her campaign and political committee — putting her in the lead for funding, with formable opponent and Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch trailing behind.
Welch’s campaign haul for his first month of campaigning was $57,000, and as of the end of January, the most recent date for which financial reports are available for Welch’s Pelican PAC, Welch’s committee had raised $86,650 and spent just over $5,500.
Rice’s committee has spent nearly $33,000, according to the most recently available reports from the end of January, but spending reports with the most recent campaign fundraising haul are not yet available. The latest available reports show her committee has raised $225,000 since its start, and with the additional $29,300 provided this month, her latest total is likely about $254,000.
Both Rice and Welch officially filed for the race in mid-January, Rice on Jan. 12 and Welch three days later. Campaigns typically see a surge in fundraising after officially filing as donors have new motivation to contribute.
But Rice showed stronger momentum in her first weeks of official campaigning with a campaign haul that nearly doubled Welch.
The two are among several already filed candidates for the race to succeed current Mayor Rick Kriseman who is leaving office because of term limits. Rice’s former colleague and a former state Representative, Wengay Newton, is also running.
Lesser known candidates filed for the race include USF St. Pete student Michael Ingram, Realtor Vincent Nowicki and Kenwood Organic Produce head Marcile Powers.
Welch and Rice, however, are largely considered the frontrunners. The top two vote-getters in the August municipal race will move onto the November General Election as long as no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote. As the field sits right now, onlookers expect Rice to take the No. 1 spot with Welch coming in just behind, setting up a potential showdown between the two.
Though the only poll in the race so far, commissioned by Fox 13, shows Welch in the top spot with Newton at No. 2 and Rice in third place. However, that poll also showed most voters are still undecided in the race, leaving plenty of time for candidates to make their case to voters.
