Rays owners pour money into Hillsborough commission races
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Rendering: Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays
A lobbyist for the Rays met with six of the seven Hillsborough County commissioners in late 2025, county records show.
- Within weeks, the team's owners and their businesses were pouring tens of thousands of dollars into several of those commissioners' reelection efforts.
Why it matters: Much of the money went to commissioners who ultimately supported the team's plans for a new ballpark — and a candidate who defeated one of the deal's opponents.
Driving the news: Commissioners Gwen Myers, Harry Cohen and Joshua Wostal, all up for reelection, have received at least $140,000 combined from Rays owners and their companies since the sale.
- Most of it came before the board's May 20 vote on a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with the Rays, which Myers and Cohen supported and Wostal opposed.
- After Commissioner Donna Cameron-Cepeda spoke out against investing in the new Rays stadium at an April 16 workshop, more than $40,000 flowed to her primary opponent, Stacy Hahn.
Between the lines: The Rays' ownership group includes several prominent homebuilders and developers with business in Tampa Bay and a history of giving to state and local politicians.
- Two of the donors had given to Wostal's committee more than a year before the sale. Willy Nunn's Homes by WestBay gave it $50,000 on Oct. 2, months after he voted against the deal.
Yes, but: Donations from companies owned by Rays limited partners Nunn, Chris LaFace and Jeff Hills often arrived the same day, or sometimes just weeks before a stadium vote.
- Commissioner Harry Cohen's political committee, Hillsborough Together, received a combined $13,000 from Homes by WestBay, Ripa & Associates and Eisenhower Management on March 31.
- Commissioner Gwen Myers' political committee received $25,000 from the same three companies a week before she voted "yes" on a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with the Rays.
Zoom out: The most money to any local candidate, however, went to a political committee backing former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn's comeback bid.
- St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch's campaign also received $1,000 from Rays CEO Ken Babby. Political committees affiliated with Welch have received $50,000 from the team.
- A political committee backing his rival, former Gov. Charlie Crist, got about $10,000 from the team and one of its limited partners.
The other side: The Rays declined to comment. Myers, Cohen and Hahn did not respond to Axios' requests for comment.
- Wostal told Axios that some of the businesses that donated to him began doing so before their owners became involved with the Rays. "I am very proud to have bipartisan financial support from across the private sector."