Mississippi’s longest-serving lawmaker announces retirement

BILOXI, MS (WLOX) - Biloxi representation at the state capitol will soon be changing. Tommy Gollott just put the rumors to rest. The Biloxi senator exclusively told WLOX he is retiring.

Gollott, the longest serving state lawmaker in Mississippi history, says he will not run for re-election.

“I’m retiring. Fifty-two years is long enough to be anywhere,” he said.

Gollott said he decided to go out on a high note and make the 2019 legislative session his last term at the state capitol. He spent his first 12 years in the House of Representatives. In 1980, he switched to the Senate and spent the last 40 years on that side of the capitol complex.

But the senator is still thinking of Biloxi’s future. A couple of hours ago, Gollott took his son-in-law Burton Swoope to the state GOP headquarters and helped him qualify for Gollott’s senate seat.

“I went down with him a little while ago and helped him run for my seat,” he explained.

At the moment, Swoope is the only republican to enter the Senate District 50 race. Candidates have two more weeks to qualify.

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