She lost Gulfport mayor’s race, but Williams Barnes still feels like a winner
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Voter turnout in Gulfport's mayoral race surged to 24.6%, up from past elections.
- Republican Hugh Keating won with 53.2% of the vote over Democrat Sonya Barnes.
- Both parties credit civic engagement and competition for driving high participation.
Gulfport held its first real mayor’s contest since 2013 — and what a race it has been.
Voter turnout hit 24.6%. The turnout of 13,007 voters was far higher than it was in at least three previous elections.
Republican attorney Hugh Keating captured 53.2% of the vote to 46.8% for former state Rep. Sonya Williams Barnes, a Democrat.
“We didn’t win the seat of mayor but we won the race,” Williams Barnes said Wednesday, noting that she believes elected officials will be more responsive to an engaged electorate.
Getting out the vote was a priority for both Barnes and Keating. But it helped that Gulfport had a competitive mayor’s race. Current Republican Mayor Billy Hewes, a former state senator, ran unopposed in his first two mayoral elections, in 2013 and 2017.
Hewes, who decided to step down after three terms, won his first election with 1,265 votes and his second race with only 838 votes.
HIs Democratic opponent in 2021, Howard Pages, said he ran partly so voters would have a choice.
“I think nothing motivates elected officials more than when the public participates,” Page said Wednesday.
Democratic primary motivated Republican voters
Both Keating and Barnes held multiple campaign events, knocked on doors and participated in candidate forums. High-profile politicians from other states also visited Gulfport to support their mayoral campaigns. Accusations of wrongdoing hit both campaigns, but the candidates themselves tried to stay above the fray.
Williams Barnes’ showing in the Democratic primary lit a fire under Republicans. The 3,316 votes she received outstripped Hewes’ total in the 2021 general election against Page, which the mayor won with 2,680 votes. Total turnout, even with a competitive race against Page, was only 4,132 — far less than half of Tuesday’s vote.
After the April primary, Republican state Sen. Joel Carter of Biloxi warned Gulfport residents against complacency, urging them to get out and vote. “Hugh is NOT a shoo-in!.” he posted on Facebook. Other Republicans echoed his warning.
Keating said turnout was “encouraging for the future.” But he thinks Gulfport can do better than under 25% turnout.
“Voting is our most valuable right,” he said.
What democracy’s about
Republican Councilman Rusty Walker, who won re-election Tuesday, said the high turnout reflects the attention people are paying in the current political atmosphere.
He said public participation in government is what builds strong neighborhoods and communities.
“Any time you rely on government to make it good for you,” he said, “you’re enfeebling yourself.”
Barnes Williams said the “small pocket of voters” in previous elections wasn’t enough to hold the administration accountable. She’s hoping the voters who turned out Tuesday will stay engaged.
“Now that 13,000 people have shown up to vote,” she said, “I want to believe the administration will be more open and transparent, and more responsive to citizen-voters.
“That’s what democracy is about.”
This story was originally published June 5, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: The name of Sonya Williams Barnes was incorrect in the headline of an earlier version of this story.
