Corinth Mayor Ralph Dance Wins Second Term

Corinth Mayor Ralph Dance won a second term Tuesday night, taking about 60 percent of the vote in a four-way general election, according to unofficial results reported by WTVA. The Corinth mayor election drew Dance, a Republican, against Democrat Nestly Gates and independents Tommy Irwin and Taylor Coombs Moak.

Corinth Mayor Election Results

WTVA reported these unofficial totals:

• Ralph Dance (R): 1,303 votes, 60.4 percent
• Tommy Irwin (I): 415 votes, 19.2 percent
• Taylor Coombs Moak (I): 351 votes, 16.3 percent
• Nestly Gates (D): 88 votes, 4.1 percent

WTVA’s story described Dance’s total as a “lead of 1,303” and listed the percentages in a different order than the vote counts. The numbers line up when read as above: the four totals add to 2,157 votes, and each candidate’s share matches the reported percentage. These results are unofficial until the election is certified.

Dance’s Path to a Second Term

Dance was first elected in 2022, when he beat then-Mayor Tommy Irwin 1,159 to 1,123 (50.8 percent to 49.2 percent) in a race decided by a few dozen votes. Before taking office he served as Corinth’s police chief. Irwin, the former mayor, returned this year as an independent and finished second.

This year’s race was different from the 2022 contest. Dance came through a Republican primary earlier in the season, and the general election added a Democratic nominee and a second independent candidate to the ballot.

How Voting Worked

Polls were open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the City Hall fire department bay, 300 Childs St. Absentee voting began in late August, and the Daily Corinthian reported 221 absentee ballots had been requested by the Thursday before the election.

WTVA also pointed readers to a Facebook post with results of uncontested city races. We have not independently confirmed those, so we are not reporting them here.

What Comes Next

Election results become official after the city’s election officials certify the vote. We will update this story if the certified totals differ from the unofficial numbers. Corinth residents with questions about the results or the certification process can contact Corinth City Hall.

For more on city government, see our recent coverage of the Corinth emergency kratom ban and the Corinth mayor election voting guide.

Source: WTVA