The Rick Baker campaign announced Thursday that the mayoral candidate has received endorsements from 40 Midtown and Child’s Park pastors and religious leaders.
“I am deeply honored by the overwhelming support we are receiving in Midtown and Child’s Park. We will continue to work every day to build a Seamless City,” Baker said.
The campaign called the endorsements a sign of “growing momentum” for the former mayor, who is running against incumbent Rick Kriseman and a half-dozen other candidates for the city’s top post.
The St. Petersburg primary election is set for Aug. 29. The two candidates with the most votes in the primary will face off in the November general election, unless one of the candidates is able to get more than 50 percent of the vote.
Baker is the most likely candidate to cross the 50-percent-plus-threshold. Most recent polling has given him a high single-digit lead over Kriseman, and if his upward trend continues he could secure the job next month.
Here’s the full list of pastors endorsing Baker:
Rev. Ben Adams
Pastor Troy Adams
John Anderson
Bishop Designate Al Baldwin
Rev. Brian Brown
Apostle Ledell Carr
Rev. Michael Culbreath
Pastor Rudene Davis
Pastor Thomas Davenport
Bishop Zema Florence
Rev. Aaron Gaskin
Rev. Ronald Gibson
Rev. Mike Hawkins
Pastor Alan Humphries
Rev. James Holt
Rev. Ernest Jones
Rev. Curtiss Long
Rev. Norris Martin
Rev. Alvin Miller
Rev. Earl Mills
Rev. Frank Peterman
Rev. Clarice Pennington
Rev. Keturah Pittman
Rev. Eddie Robinson
Rev. Willie Sands
Rev. Lewis Sherman
Pastor Tony Smith
Dr. Freddie Thomas
Rev. Dr. Wayne G. Thompson
Bishop Gustave Victor
Rev. Charlie Ward
Rev. Robert Ward
Pastor Wayne & Pastor Rhunette Wells
Rev. Ricky Welch
Rev. Thomas Whitlock
Rev. Wayne Wilson
Pastor Margaret Wells
Pastor Alvin Williams
Pastor Taneshia Yancey