Coast law enforcement officials and Phil Bryant endorsed her opponent. She won anyway.

A hard-fought race for Harrison County constable in District 2 ended Tuesday night with a win for Angel Kibler-Middleton over Ricky Dombrowski.

Kibler-Middleton finished the race with 2,662 votes, or 51%, to 2,548 votes, or 49%, for Dombrowski, a former Gulfport councilman.

“That was a hard fight,” Kibler-Middleton said. “I’ll tell you one thing, Ricky Dombrowski was definitely a hard fighter.”

“ . . . I’m so thankful to my supporters who never doubted that a woman could do the job.”

She said knocking on doors and grassroots campaigning helped her come out on top. Near the end, she spent money on ads to counter Dombrowski endorsements from Gov. Phil Bryant and Gulfport Police Chief Leonard Papania.

Kibler-Middleton, who will give up her seat as District 2 supervisor at year’s end, faces independent Neill McInnis in the general election. Rebecca Powers, a businesswoman and former WLOX-TV anchor, secured the District 2 supervisor’s seat in the primary election.

In the runoff for District 5 Justice Court judge, Nick Patano defeated Patrick Williams. Patano received 2,636 votes, or 51%, to Williams’ 2,514, votes, or 49%.

Patano, previously a Justice Court judge in Jackson County, faces independent candidate Alphonso Gines in the general election.

This story was originally published August 27, 2019 at 9:28 PM.