District Attorney Gil Martin’s bid for re-election became official Monday as the four-term incumbent’s qualifying papers were OK’d by the Secretary of State’s Office.

Martin, 62, has practiced law in Vicksburg since 1969.

So far, his opponent is attorney Richard &#8220Ricky” Smith Jr., 44, who ran as an independent in 2003 but filed as a Democrat Feb. 14.

Martin is an independent, meaning the contest won’t be decided until the general election on Nov. 6.

A DA prosecutes felony criminal cases and tracks court fines and the Ninth District covers Warren, Sharkey and Issaquena counties. The District Attorney’s Office also handles assistance with victims of crime and operates a worthless check unit.

Smith had served one term as justice court judge for the Northern District before his 2003 race against Martin, who won the 2003 race with 58.5 percent of the vote.

All incumbents on the local level are running for re-election, including all five Warren County supervisors.

In a legislative race, a second Republican joined the field for Senate District 23, the seat being vacated by Sen. Mike Chaney, R-Vicksburg.

James &#8220Buddy” Terrell, 65, a retired trooper of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, entered the race Monday, the state party reports on its Web site.

Rep. Chester Masterson, R-Vicksburg, is running for the seat after two terms in the House representing District 54, representing south Vicksburg.

Local attorney W. Briggs Hopson III and Eric Rawlings, who runs a Web-based sales operation, have made the race as Democrats.

Candidates in the race to succeed Masterson in the House are local businessman Alex Monsour and attorneys Thomas Setser and Ryan Sadler. No Democrats have filed.

Rep. George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, is running for a sixth term in District 55, representing central and north Vicksburg.

The deadline for filing paperwork to run for election is Thursday at 5 p.m.