Independent candidates and candidates for parties other than Democrat and Republican will only compete in the general election in Mississippi, said Circuit Clerk Nance Stokes, so they are not listed on the primary ballot.

The primary election on August 6 and subsequent primary run-off on August 27 only include Democratic and Republican candidates who will compete to be the general election on November 5.

In the primary election voters can vote from the slate of Republican candidates or the Democratic candidates to narrow the field for the general election, said Reggie Hanberry, Chairman of the Election Commission.

Typically, other political parties do not go through the process of a primary election so their candidates simply compete in the general election, Hanberry said. Parties like the Libertarian Party are smaller, so there is not usually more than one candidate in that party running for a particular office, Hanberry said, which makes a primary unnecessary.

If there is a primary run-off election for the Democrat or Republican candidates—which Hanberry predicts will happen in both parties this year—voters cannot vote in the Republican run-off if they voted in the Democrat primary and vice versa, Hanberry said. However, in the general election voters can vote for any candidate on the ballot, regardless of what party they chose during the primary, Hanberry said.

Pearl River County Democratic and Republican parties both contract with the election commissioners to run the primary election, said Mike Tyson, chairman of the Republican executive committee, because the commissioners are familiar with the process and laws concerning the elections.

Independent Candidates

The only independent candidate for Mississippi Governor is David R. Singletary, according to the Secretary of State’s website. Bob Hickingbottom is running for Mississippi Governor under the Constitution Party, according to the Secretary of State’s website.

The only independent candidate for Pearl River County Sheriff is John “Tank” Herring, according to the Circuit Clerk’s office.

The only independent candidate for Supervisor District 1 is Jimmy Dale Buckley, according to the Circuit Clerk’s office.

Independent candidates for North Justice Court Judge, North District are; Max Hardberger and Joe Smith, according to the Circuit Clerk’s office.