West Palm Beach mayoral race has a clear frontrunner, and someone might want to take the hint

Mostly, political stories center on what candidates are doing. But sometimes it’s what a candidate isn’t doing that stands out.

There’s only one strong Mayor position in Palm Beach County, and it’s in West Palm Beach. The city has become the hub of major businesses coming to the city and county, with West Palm Beach being honored as Tripadvisor’s Top Trending destination for 2025.

Though nearly two years away, the West Palm Beach mayoral election is already generating significant attention. So it makes sense that candidates would file early and try to show they can be a serious contender.

Fundraising is one way to stand out in a field, and first-quarter fundraising reports reveal a stark contrast between leading candidates.

Christina Lambert has established a commanding lead, raising nearly $103,000 through her candidate account from 230 donors, indicating strong grassroots support. Her political committee further bolstered her financial position by raising another $107,500, from 13 donors.

More than 240 donors have given to Lambert between her two campaign accounts, demonstrating a broad base backing her. Contributions to her candidate account have come from both big- and small-dollar donors, with values ranging from $1 to the maximum $1,000. In total, Lambert has raised more than $462,000 for her mayoral race.

That puts her in the clear front-runner position, especially compared to her only filed opponent so far.

Incumbent County Commissioner Gregg Weiss’ campaign has struggled to gain momentum. Despite announcing his candidacy in January, Weiss reported just over $5,000 in Q1, entirely from a personal loan. His PC raised a modest $19,500 in the quarter and has raised around $51,000 overall, mostly tied to his work on the County Commission. It’s nominal compared to Lambert’s massive haul.

Weiss filed the same time as Lambert, a West Palm Beach City Commissioner. Reports showing nothing in outside contributions demonstrate a lack of external donor support for Weiss’ official campaign, raising concerns about his early traction.

It doesn’t say much that not a single person in a county of 1.5 million wants to donate to a sitting County Commissioner. It’s hard to identify an explanation, and it’s not clear what Weiss’ strategy is, even at this early juncture. Politics 101 dictates that early momentum can make or break a campaign, and, at this rate, it’s looking like Weiss is landing squarely in the “break” category.

It’s worth noting that plenty of people have mounted competitive campaigns aided by their own money. But if a candidate is going to self-fund, that up front check has to be big enough to demonstrate seriousness. A measly $5,000 isn’t going to scare off someone now holding more than $426,000 in available cash, and it isn’t going to signal to other donors that a campaign is worth supporting.

Sure enough, Weiss hadn’t dumped a ton of his own money early on in prior races. In fact, he hasn’t needed to raise much at all, or ever run a serious campaign to be elected.

The March 2027 mayoral contest is more like a congressional race in terms of cost, intensity and expectations. Running for a strong Mayor position isn’t like other races. If anyone is wondering whether Weiss is equipped to run such a campaign, he calmed none of their concerns with his Q1 fundraising.

That’s not even considering other signs of distress for Weiss. Weiss has failed to amass the kind of support Lambert has collected, including endorsements from the Fraternal Order of Police, West Palm Beach Firefighters Association, SEIU Florida and the Black Democratic Caucus of Palm Beach County.

She also hosted an official campaign kickoff with more than 200 in attendance, showcasing her diverse and growing foundation amongst the city’s local business, community, neighborhood, faith and civic leaders.

That’s all bad news for Weiss. But maybe it’s kindness that his opponent started showcasing her strength early. It gives him plenty of time to evaluate his options and possibly find a graceful exit from this seat.