POPLARVILLE — While it might sometimes seem that at some political events there are more candidates than prospective voters, a perusal of the field in 2007 shows that the same number of candidates, 31, who ran then for supervisor, equals the same number running now in 2011.

However, there has been a continuing decline in the number of candidates under the Democratic label seeking office in PRC, as a seachange in parties continues among candidates vying for office in Pearl River County.

While there are only three Democrats seeking the supervisor posts this year, there were 10 Democratic supervisor candidates, or one-third, in 2007.

There are 31 candidates seeking the office of supervisor in Pearl River County’s five supervisory districts this year, and only three are Democrats. The remaining 28 are Republican. The three supervisor Democrat candidates are current District One incumbent Anthony Hales, Sr., one of his challengers, Democrat Jimmy Buckley of White Sand Community, and District Four candidate Democrat Frank N. Egger.

The trend began in the early 1970s with the election of Republican Picayune mayor, the late Grady Thigpen, Jr., and has continued ever since. Just this year two prominent Democrats, current Pearl River County Circuit Court Clerk Vicki P. Hariel and State Sen. Ezell Lee of Picayune changed their party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.

Expand from the supervisor races to all 66 candidates seeking county offices, and you add only one more Democrat to the equation: Democrat Reginald “Reggie” Smith running for Constable in the West District.

That means out of 66 total county candidates running for office only four are Democrats and three are running as an Independent. The Independents almost equal Democrat candidates. Fifty-nine county office candidates are Republican.

The same holds true for the Legislative races: In District 108 incumbent State Rep. Mark Formby and challenger Eddie Magee are both Republicans; in District 106 incumbent State Rep. Herb Frierson is Republican but challenger Donna Kenezevich is Libertarian, the first Libertarian on the county ballot ever; in Senate District 40 incumbent State Sen. Sid Albritton and challengers Angela Burks Hill and Mike “Duck” Griffith are Republican; in Senate District 47 incumbent State Sen. Ezell Lee and challenger Tony Smith are both Republicans; in Senate  District 45 State Sen. Billy Hudson is Republican and challenger Yasming S. Johnson is Reform Party; only incumbent State Rep. Dirk Dedeaux in House District 93 is a Democrat and he’s being challenged by two Republicans, Kent Alexander and Timmy Ladner.

In the six legislative races in Pearl River County, only one Democrat is on the ballot, that is, State Rep. Dirk Dedeaux. His District 93 takes in Steep Hollow Community in southeastern PRC. He and his family belong to the Steep Hollow Baptist Church although he lives in northern Hancock County.

The South used to be called the “Solid South,” and by that political pundits meant solid Democrat. But not anymore. Republicans have made deep in-roads.

Pearl River County is so solidly Republican now that some political pundits say it is one of 10 counties in Mississippi’s 82 that anyone running for governor on the Republican ticket must have during the primaries to win.

Pearl River County voters now vote heavily Republican and now have the candidates to prove it.

It prompts some to ask, Is the Democratic Party going the way of the Whigs, especially in PRC.

Even the race for superintendent of education in the Pearl River County school district at Carriere features two candidates, Alan Lumpkin and Pam McKean Frierson, both Republicans, and it will be decided in the Aug. 2 First Primary because of that fact.

Most all county races will be determined by the Aug. 23 Second Primary because of the plethora of Republican candidates.

Most here don’t know it or remember, but the seachange in political parties began in Pearl River County in the early 1970s when Picayune mayor, the late Grady Thigpen, Jr., ran for and was elected mayor of Picayune as a Republican.

He was the first Republican here to hold a significant public office and others ran and won on his coattails. He was widely known as a successful Picayune businessman, son of “Grandpa” Thigpen, a founder in 1948 of First National Bank, Thigpen Hardware and real estate and insurance businesses.

He relied on that reputation to propel himself into the mayor’s post as a Republican, and he was probably the only local politician who could have done that under the Republican label, because PRC residents were so used to voting Democrat at the time and didn’t trust Republicans.

There are so many candidates that it is hard to get a fix on what they are saying. Some Patriot groups have been holding question-and-answer sessions among the candidates, but attendance has been low, and advertisements of the sessions has been sparse.

But you can go on the website “prc1776.webs.com” and see some of the Q&A sessions that are posted there. Mainly, two activist groups have been putting on the Q&A sessions, PRC1776 and We The People.

The Picayune Item will have a voters’ guide in the Item on July 24 and in the Democrat on July 28.

There are 15 days to go until the Aug. 2 First Primary.

Following is a list of candidates who have qualified for the primary election 2011for  Pearl River Co. offices and their party affiliation. This list does not include district and state candidates, just candidates running for offices in Pearl River County. There are 66 of them:

Supervisor District 1: Anthony Hales, Sr., (Dem); Jimmy Buckley (Dem.); Fornea Spiers, Dallas A. Hook and Vernon Culpepper, all Republicans.

Supervisor District 2: All Republican — Joyce Culpepper, Clark Bryan, Daryl Smith, David Bullen, David E. Johnson and Jennifer Harvey.

Supervisor District 3: All Republican — Bobby Strahan, Kelton Smith, Kendall McClinton, Irvin Templet, Dennis W. Dedeaux, Todd Lewis, P. Kyle Dossett, Robert Gordon Ladner, Jr., and Tony Pervel.

Supervisor District 4: Republicans J. Patrick Lee and Brian K. Stockstill and Democrat Frank N. Egger.

Supervisor District 5: All Republican — Sandy Kane Smith, Thomas “Snuffy” Spiers, Byron Stockstill, Glennis ‘Glen’ Neal, Jr., Steve Strausbaugh, Woody Spiers, Mark Franklin and Keith Seal.

Sheriff: Republicans David Allison and Joe Smith and Independent Frank Vaccrella.

Chancery Clerk: David Earl Johnson, Republican.

Circuit Clerk: Adrain Lumpkin, James Buie and Vickie P. Hariel, all Republican.

Tax Collector-Assessor: Republicans Gary Beech and Andy Williams.

Coronor: Republicans Derek Turnage and Charles Cuevas.

County Prosecuting Attorney: Republicans Cheryl D. Johnson, Laurie J. Hutchings and Aaron Russell, Jr.

Justice Court Judge North District: Republicans James Hal Breland, Herbert ‘Bert’ Gentry 2nd and Yvette Fabre Fairchild, and Independent Don Lee.

Justice Court Judge East District : Republicans Farron Moeller, Ray M. Bennett, Donald D. Fail, Gina Lee and Sheila Palmer Herrin and Independent James L. ‘Jim’ Gray.

Justice Court Judge West District: John Mark Mitchell, Republican.

Constable West District: Republican Charles ‘Bogie’ Stockstill and Democrat Reginald ‘Reggie’ Smith.

Constable North District: Republicans Harlan Amacker, Ronnie Walters, Danny Joe Slade and Rossie Creel.

Constable East District: Justin Faia and Danny E. Lowery, both Republicans.

And superintendent of education: Republicans Alan Lumpkin and Pam McKean Frierson.