Andy Gipson
Republican. Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce since 2018. Declared candidate for governor in 2027. This report covers his campaign finance filings for 2024 and 2025 (both his Agriculture Commissioner committee and his governor committee) and federal grants paid to his department from 2021 to 2026. Updated October 25, 2026.
Key findings
His largest donor runs a café inside a market his department operates
Ralph Elmore and his company, City Limits Foodservice LLC, gave $108,814 across both Gipson committees in 2024 and 2025. Ralph and Missy Elmore own City Limits Café inside the Mississippi Farmers Market in Jackson, a division of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce. Gipson attended the café’s ribbon-cutting in January 2021. The café’s lease or concession terms are not in the public record we reviewed.
An $87,000 “campaign vehicle” from that donor
On June 27, 2025, the day the Secretary of State received the governor committee’s organization papers, the committee reported an $87,000 in-kind contribution from Ralph Elmore described as “In-Kind Use of Campaign Vehicle.” The report does not say what the vehicle is, who holds the title, or how its use was valued at $87,000.
The State Fair carnival operator gave $35,000
Danny Huston of Parker City, Indiana, owner of North American Midway Entertainment, gave $15,000 in 2024 and $20,000 in 2025. His company runs the carnival at the Mississippi State Fair, an event run by Gipson’s department. The contract terms and how the operator was chosen are not in the public record we reviewed.
$135,000 moved from his Agriculture account to his governor account
On December 31, 2025, Friends of Andy Gipson transferred $135,000 to Gipson for Governor. News totals that add both committees together count this money twice. With the transfer removed, the two committees took in about $342,000 in 2025 (including $19,800 in-kind from Gipson himself), not the $477,481 that a simple sum shows.
$6.2 million farm infrastructure grant: 43% paid, no recipients reported
His department’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure grant was meant for farmers, processors and food businesses. Federal records show $2.69 million paid and zero sub-grant recipients reported. See the Farm Money Guide.
Largest donors, all reports combined
Friends of Andy Gipson 2024 and 2025, plus Gipson for Governor 2025. Excludes the $135,000 transfer between his own committees. Related people and companies at the same address are grouped.
| Donor | Who they are | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Ralph Elmore / City Limits Foodservice LLC | Owns City Limits Café inside the MDAC-run Mississippi Farmers Market. $89,814 of this was in-kind. | $108,814 |
| Barry Wax (Amory) | Listed as “Businessman.” Business not identified. | $45,000 |
| Danny Huston (Parker City, IN) | Owner of North American Midway Entertainment, the State Fair carnival operator. | $35,000 |
| Andy Gipson | The candidate: headquarters and utilities, in-kind. | $19,800 |
| Capitol Resources PAC / Clare Hester | Jackson lobbying firm and its founder. | $10,000 |
| Wells Richards / S&W Crawdad Hole LLC | The Crawdad Hole restaurant. | $9,000 |
| DeViney group | Baker Services, DeViney Construction, DeViney Brothers and DeViney Equipment, sharing two PO boxes. Each gave the $1,000 corporate maximum in both years. | ≈ $7,500 |
| Capitol Advocacy Group PAC / The Clay Firm | Lobbying firm and law firm sharing PO Box 217, Jackson. | $7,500 |
| Karen Hammack / Capitol Chlorinator | Water treatment company, Canton. | $6,000 |
| Six donors at $5,000 each | Southern Style Marketing LLC, Burtonair LLC, TTT Cattle Company LLC, Crysta Lemmel (TX), David Luckett, Jim Barnette Tohill. | $5,000 each |
| David Porter (Waynesboro) | Employer listed as FCTG. | $4,850 |
| MPVR PAC (Forest) | Appears to be a “medical freedom” advocacy PAC. | $3,750 |
Other donors with business before the department include Tyson Foods, Helena Agri-Enterprises, Chevron and the Mississippi Agricultural Aviation Association (crop dusters, which MDAC licenses).
Gipson for Governor, 2025
Committee organized June 24, 2025; papers received by the Secretary of State June 27, 2025. Treasurer Jacque Soileau. Director Jessica Darby, Political Financial Management, Nashville, Tenn. Annual report filed January 30, 2026.
Cash on hand December 31, 2025: $255,684. Cash spending in 2025 was about $35,000, led by Griffin Strategies LLC of Starkville ($30,599, “communications vendor”).
Non-cash (in-kind) contributions
| From | Described as | Date | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ralph Elmore | Use of campaign vehicle | 06/27/2025 | $87,000 |
| J. Andrew Gipson (the candidate) | Campaign headquarters and utilities | 12/31/2025 | $19,800 |
| Ralph Elmore | Printing | 07/11/2025 | $2,814 |
| Shannon Elliott | Event catering | 10/28/2025 | $1,700 |
| Terri and Clint Herring | Event catering | 09/25/2025 | $1,394 |
| Jim Armstrong | Event catering | 09/04/2025 | $650 |
Other patterns
- Out-of-state money: about $31,000 of 2025 governor donations came from Indiana, Texas, Illinois, Virginia and Georgia.
- Unidentified PAC: “Committee for Clean Environment Fair Taxation PAC” gave $2,500 on December 31, 2025. We found no public record of it.
Friends of Andy Gipson (Agriculture Commissioner account)
| 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Raised | $133,463 | $73,468 |
| Spent | $112,520 | $295,038 |
| Cash at year end | $238,033 | $16,463 |
Spending worth asking about
- Graham Advisors LLC (Wichita, Kan.), out-of-state fundraising consultant: about $137,000 over two years.
- Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum, which his own department runs: $4,775 for event catering. Question raisedWas the public rate charged?
- Travel reimbursements to Gipson: $7,232, with no trip details listed.
- Make America Great Again, Inc., a federal super PAC: $7,603 (October 2024).
- Mississippi Republican Party: $21,100 in donations, signs and tickets.
Corporate limit questions
Mississippi law limits corporations to $1,000 per candidate per year (Miss. Code § 97-13-15). Question raisedThe Mississippi Beverage Association, listed as a corporation, gave $2,500 in 2024. City Limits Foodservice LLC ($6,000), Southern Style Marketing LLC ($5,000) and Market Max LLC ($2,000) gave more than $1,000; whether the limit covers LLCs is disputed.
Bookkeeping errors in the filings
- 2024 cover page lists non-itemized contributions as $8,793.92; the schedule says $8,973.92.
- 2025 cover page puts the grand total in the “itemized” box; the itemized total is $294,892.95.
- 2025 running totals do not match the line items for several payees. The cash balances still reconcile.
Federal grants to his department (MDAC), 2021–2026
USAspending.gov lists 97 federal awards to MDAC starting 2021, with about $28.5 million paid out. Most pays for meat inspectors ($7.5 million), pest and plant surveys, FDA produce safety ($2.6 million), EPA pesticide enforcement ($1.9 million) and feral hog control ($2.3 million).
| Program | Money | Where it went |
|---|---|---|
| Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure | $2.69M of $6.24M | No sub-grant recipients reported. Ends May 24, 2027. |
| Local Food Purchase Assistance, 2022 | $6.82M | Three food banks: MS Food Network, Mid-South Food Bank, Feeding the Gulf Coast. |
| Local Food Purchase Assistance, 2025 | $7.11M cancelled | Ended nationwide by USDA in spring 2025. |
| Specialty Crop Block Grants | $420K–$565K a year | MSU, Farm Bureau Foundation, Sweet Potato Council (2021–2022). None reported for 2023–2025. |
State general fund appropriation to MDAC for FY2026: $9,588,715 (Senate Bill 2028). Total budget across all sources: about $29.5 million.
Questions and records requests
- What is the $87,000 vehicle, who holds its title, and how was its value set? Mississippi’s personal-use law (Miss. Code § 23-15-821) limits how campaign assets can be used.
- What are the lease or concession terms for City Limits Café at the Mississippi Farmers Market, and how was the operator chosen?
- What are the terms of the State Fair midway contract with North American Midway Entertainment, and was it bid?
- Who received RFSI grants, how much did each get, and how were farmers notified?
- Did the Ag Museum charge the campaign the public rate for catering?
Public records requests to MDAC go under the Mississippi Public Records Act, Miss. Code § 25-61-1. The governor committee’s 2026 report is due January 31, 2027.
Sources
- Friends of Andy Gipson, 2024 Annual Report (filed Jan. 31, 2025) and 2025 Annual Report (filed Jan. 30, 2026); Gipson for Governor, Statement of Organization (received June 27, 2025) and 2025 Annual Report (filed Jan. 30, 2026). All filed with the Mississippi Secretary of State.
- Magnolia Tribune, Feb. 2, 2026: 2025 campaign finance totals
- WLBT, Jan. 13, 2021: City Limits Café opens at Mississippi Farmers Market
- WJTV: City Limits Café opens at Mississippi Farmers Market
- MDAC: Mississippi Farmers Market
- OpenCorporates: City Limits Foodservice, LLC
- Amusement Today, 2018: North American Midway sold to Danny Huston’s company
- Capitol Resources: team
- Natchez Democrat: corporate contribution limit and LLCs
- USAspending.gov: MDAC RFSI award
- USAspending.gov: MDAC Local Food Purchase award and sub-grants
- USDA AMS: Specialty Crop Block Grant awards to Mississippi
- Senate Bill 2028, FY2026 MDAC appropriation
- Legislative Budget Office, FY2026 Budget Bulletin
- Mississippi Free Press: Gipson announces 2027 run for governor
- WLOX, June 11, 2025: Gipson announcement
Items labeled Question raised are not findings of wrongdoing. Corrections: see our Corrections Policy.
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