It’s down to the wire, and down to the money.
Tuesday’s primary for St. Petersburg mayor appears to be coming down to incumbent Bill Foster and former City Councilmember and state Representative Rick Kriseman. In the latest polling by StPetePolls.org, the two are running within one percentage point of each other — Foster at 33 percent, Kriseman at 32.
One-time frontrunner Kathleen Ford has dipped to 22 percent; her chances of the campaign making it to Wednesday are looking slimmer. The two candidates with the most votes will advance to the Nov. 5 general election.
As far as money, in the Aug. 3-22 reporting period, Foster banked another $21,065 for a total of $148,674. In that short time, it seemed his campaign went on a virtual “supermarket sweep,” primarily with his perennial consultants at the Mallard Group. Foster gave the Clearwater firm nearly $40,000 of the $54,391 spent in those 18 days, mostly buying TV production, cable spots, T-shirts and other fees.
As he battles Kriseman in the primary — spending to the tune $112,088 total — the mayor remains on top with about $36,600 cash-on-hand.
The numbers also show Kriseman’s rise from third to second place (and neck and neck with Foster) came with a higher price tag. He collected $20,770 in August, within $300 of Foster, making him the head of the leaderboard with a total of $155,864. At the same time, he spent $38,689 for an overall $146,294 investment in his campaign.
Kriseman’s war chest on primary day will now be at a little over $9,500.
Foster received a number of big donations this time around; 33 donors gave him $450.00 or more, including the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce PAC, Amir Academy owner Amir Ardebily and Foundation for Freedom CCE.
In August, however, Kriseman dominated the sheer number of donors, with a total of 160 individuals, groups and business entities, and only 10 percent giving the $500 maximum allowed by Florida law.
Kriseman received more union support in August from the International Union of Operating Engineers. Home Shopping Network CEO Mindy Grossman hedged her bets by giving Kriseman $500, the same amount she gave to Foster last reporting period.
Ford’s campaign numbers are looking like her polling, a distant third. Not only has she only collected $2,800 in August for a campaign total of $32,415, but she has spent nearly all of it ($31,884) leaving her with about $530 as she finishes the primary campaign.
Out of 13 donations Ford collected, four of them were over $400. One large donor was John McQueen, president and owner of Anderson-McQueen Funeral Home in St. Pete.
Hopefully, it isn’t an indication for Ford’s mayoral hopes.
