Janelle Irwin Taylor
More than a dozen local elected and former elected leaders in Pinellas County are backing Democratic state Rep. Lindsay Cross as she faces a tough re-election battle in House District 60 against Republican St. Petersburg City Council member Ed Montanari.
Cross, a Democrat, announced a slate of new endorsements ranging from County Commissioners to small-town beach Mayors.
“Our Pinellas cities and towns drive our economy and define our culture. I’ve been honored to protect home rule and make sure our municipalities have the flexibility to choose how they want to govern,” Cross said.
Among the latest endorsers are Pinellas County Commissioners Rene Flowers and Charlie Justice. Flowers touted Cross’ work as an environmental scientist, and the implication of that work on her representation in Tallahassee.
“Representative Lindsay Cross and I share an invaluable commitment towards sustainable and resilient growth throughout the great state of Florida. Her laser focus on ways to mitigate climate concerns as evidenced by flash flooding and beach erosion have proven to be just what and who Floridians need to represent them,” Flowers said.
And Justice said that leadership extends to economic interests in the region, and throughout the state.
“Lindsay Cross represents us incredibly well in Tallahassee,” he said. “She has been a great partner for us serving our local businesses and working to secure state funding for local priorities. She has especially worked to support the progress being made in the Lealman community. I am proud to endorse her re-election. She is a great friend to me and to our entire community.”
Other backers include St. Pete Beach City Commissioner Karen Marriott and former Belleair City Council member Coleen Chaney.
Marriott called Cross “a leader with common sense.”
“Her environmental background provides critical experience for residents that live on the water. With issues like insurance and flooding top of mind for Floridians, we need her back in Tallahassee,” she said.
Chaney meanwhile credited Cross with bringing “both diversity of thought and more than two decades of environmental expertise to Tallahassee.
Other endorsers announced Friday include former Pinellas County Commissioner Pat Gerard, Gulfport Vice Mayor Paul Ray, Gulfport City Council member April Thanos, Largo City Commissioners Michael Smith, Eric Gerard and Jamie Robinson, former Clearwater City Council member Kathleen Beckman, Dunedin City Commissioner Jeff Gow and Belleair Bluffs City Commissioner Joe Barkley III.
The latest endorsements come after results from an internal poll showed Cross maintaining a double-digit lead over Montanari, at 50% support to 38% support among likely HD 60 voters.
The numbers showed an overperformance from the top of the ticket, where 43% of voters indicated support for Democrats on a generic ticket, compared to just 39% for Republicans. Another 18% of respondents indicated that they were persuadable, according to the polling memo.
That comes despite voter registration trends going in the GOP’s favor in recent years.
A look at historic voter registration data for the district available on the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections website shows that in 2020, the last Presidential Election year, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 7 percentage points. As of May 1, that advantage has shrunk to just under 3 percentage points, according to a recent analysis of trends by Florida Politics Publisher Peter Schorsch.
Still, Montanari is likely an ideal candidate in the battleground district where Democrats carry a slight voter registration advantage, with just under 40,000 voters compared to just under 37,000 Republican voters, according to the most recent voter registration data from the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections.
And again, that’s a drop of about 1,000 voters for Democrats since late 2023 and an increase of a little less than 1,000 for Republicans, further supporting claims that the district is changing.
Where Montanari is known for his calm demeanor, quiet disposition, thoughtful consideration of policy and moderate approach to governance, so too is Cross. She has loads of support from local Democrats, but has also shown some bipartisan support.
Earlier this month she rolled out several endorsements, including four Republicans: Largo Mayor Woody Brown, Oldsmar Mayor Dan Saracki, North Redington Beach Mayor Bill Queen and former Redington Beach Mayor Nick Simons. Gulfport Mayor Sam Henderson, a former Democrat who has since become an independent, and Indian Shores Mayor Pat Soranno, who is also unaffiliated with a party, are also backing Cross.
Neither Cross nor Montanari face Primary opponents this election cycle, meaning the two will square off in the Nov. 5 General Election.
