General elections are on Tuesday. See who’s running in your MS Coast city
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Mississippi Coast voters elect mayors and council members on Tuesday, June 3.
- Gulfport’s mayoral race draws national interest with high-profile endorsements.
- Contested seats span Biloxi, Moss Point, Gautier, and other coastal municipalities.
Voters in most Mississippi Coast cities will elect another round of new leaders next Tuesday, ending a busy election season that has already ousted some incumbents and led to tight party runoffs across the region.
The general elections will decide mayor’s races in Gulfport, Biloxi, Gautier and Moss Point. City council and board of alderman candidates are also on ballots in several cities.
The elections follow party primaries and runoffs this spring.
The most contentious race may come in Gulfport, where attorney Hugh Keating, a Republican, and former state Rep. Sonya Williams Barnes, a Democrat, are running for mayor.
The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office said Wednesday it is investigating Williams Barnes’ campaign after allegations that residents received meal vouchers in exchange for voting. Mike Hurst, chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, said he asked state authorities to investigate alleged “vote buying.”
The race is also attracting some attention from national political leaders. Stacey Abrams, a Democrat who in 2018 nearly defeated Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, has contributed to Barnes’ campaign and visited Gulfport on Sunday to campaign for Williams Barnes. Keating held a rally on Friday with Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican of South Carolina, who campaigned for President Donald Trump and was once floated as his possible running mate.
In Biloxi, Incumbent Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich is facing Andy Linville, an Independent, and Farren Santibanez, a Libertarian. Linville has worked in the healthcare and real estate businesses, and Farren Santibanez is a sixth generation Biloxi resident.
Voters in Gautier will decide between Incumbent Mayor Casey Vaughan, an Independent, and Phil Torjusen, a Republican who served one term as mayor before Vaughan defeated him four years ago.
Moss Point’s Incumbent Mayor Billy Knight Sr. is facing Richard McBride, a Republican who also ran for mayor in 2017 and 2021.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 3.
New four-year terms start July 1.
Contested races
Bay St. Louis
Ward 2: Incumbent Eugene “Gene” Hoffman IV (R) and Nancy Moynan (D)
Biloxi
Mayor: Andrew “FoFo” Gilich (R), Andy Linville (I) and Farren Santibanez (L)
Ward 1: Wayne Gray (R), Corey Christy (D) and Stephan Santibanez (L)
Ward 2: Incumbent Felix O. Gines (R), Anthony L. Marshall (D) and Sonya C. White (I)
D’Iberville
Council At Large: Incumbent Joey Bosarge (R) and Crystal Wingo (I)
Mayor: Incumbent Mayor Casey Vaughan (I) and Phil Torjusen (R)
Ward 4: Lorenzo L. Fuller Sr. (I) and Joshua “Josh” Ward (I)
Ward 5: Incumbent Dante L. Elbin (R) and Anthony K. Snow (I)
Mayor: Sonya Williams Barnes (D) and Hugh Keating (R)
Ward 2: Valerie Ewing (D) and Incumbent Ron Roland (R)
Ward 4: Incumbent F.B. “Rusty” Walker (R) and Dalaney Lee Mecham (I)
Ward 5: Craig Elliott Raybon (D) and B.J. Sellers (R)
Ward 6: Carrissa Corbett (D) and Incumbent Robert “R.Lee” Flowers (R)
Moss Point
Mayor: Incumbent Billy Knight Sr. (D) and Richard McBride (R)
Alderman At Large: Matthew Hinton (R) and Oren Zweig (I)
Ward 1: Greg Gipson (I) and Steve Tillis (R)
Ward 5: Incumbent Robert Blackman (R) and James E. Lewis (I)
Pascagoula
Ward 1: Carlos R. Stallworth Sr. (I) and Michael Rodgers (D)
Pass Christian
Ward 1: Barry Dreyfus (R) and Incumbent Betty Sparkman (I) will both appear on the ballot. Sparkman withdrew from the race in May. The city said her name will still appear on ballots because they were printed before her withdrawal.
Ward 2: Incumbent Regina Charlot (D) and Joseph Piernas (I)
Anita Lee, Mary Perez and Margaret Baker contributed reporting.
This story was originally published May 27, 2025 at 1:49 PM.