| Country: | Florida |
| Flag Image: | Flag of St. Petersburg, Florida.svg |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2009 St. Petersburg, Florida, mayoral election |
| Previous Year: | 2009 |
| Next Election: | 2017 St. Petersburg, Florida, mayoral election |
| Next Year: | 2017 |
| Election Date: | August 27, 2013 (first round) November 5, 2013 (runoff) |
| 1Blank: | First-round vote |
| 2Blank: | First-round percentage |
| 3Blank: | Second-round vote |
| 4Blank: | Second-round percentage |
| Candidate1: | Rick Kriseman |
| Party1: | Nonpartisan candidate |
| 1Data1: | 19,470 |
| 2Data1: | 38.9% |
| 3Data1: | 29,687 |
| 4Data1: | 55.91% |
| Candidate2: | Bill Foster |
| Party2: | Nonpartisan candidate |
| 1Data2: | 20,336 |
| 2Data2: | 40.63% |
| 3Data2: | 23,412 |
| 4Data2: | 44.09% |
| Candidate3: | Kathleen Ford |
| Party3: | Nonpartisan candidate |
| 1Data3: | 9,648 |
| 2Data3: | 19.27% |
| Mayor | |
| Before Election: | Bill Foster |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Rick Kriseman |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
St. Petersburg, Florida, held an election for mayor on August 27 and November 5, 2013. A non-partisan primary election was held on August 27, 2013. No candidate won a majority of the vote, so the top two finishers, incumbent Mayor Bill Foster and former State Representative Rick Kriseman, advanced to a runoff.
After a campaign described as "nasty",[1] "partisan",[2] "contentious" and "the costliest in [St. Petersburg] history",[3] Foster lost to Kriseman by 56% to 44%, becoming the first incumbent mayor of St. Petersburg to lose a race for re-election in more than 26 years.
Adam C. Smith of the Tampa Bay Times wrote that although 70% of voters approved of where the city was heading and Foster was "a good man who presided over no corruption scandal, no violent racial unrest", he only proved to be "adequate" at the job. He also "underestimat[ed] voters' intelligence, talking about a secret plan to keep the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg", had an "ever-shifting" position on the St. Petersburg Pier and alienated African-American voters in Midtown. Kriseman, Smith wrote, capitalized on this to win "considerable" African-American support and ran as a "safe, credible alternative for those unimpressed with the incumbent", promising to govern like popular former Mayor Rick Baker.[4]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Bill Foster (R) | Rick Kriseman (D) | Undecided | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Pete Polls | October 24, 2013 | 1,397 | ± 2.6% | 42.6% | align=center | 48.3% | 9% | |
| Braun Research | October 17–21, 2013 | 809 | ± 3.4% | 34% | align=center | 40% | 19% | |
| Braun Research | September 14–16, 2013 | 410 | ± 4.8% | 39% | align=center | 40% | 16% |