During elections, voters can sometimes surprise a candidate with results

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The votes from Tuesday’s primaries have been counted, and some of the results have been surprising to voters, pundits, and especially a few officeholders.

Even though the primaries are only the first round, we already know there will be some new faces in a number of offices.

In Tuesday’s primaries, thousands of voters went to the polls to cast their votes.

In the aftermath, some longtime officeholders are finding themselves looking for new jobs.

Dr. Brain Anderson has made a career of studying politics.

He said sometimes voters can surprise a candidate.

“Voters get that restlessness and say there are other people who can go in and add a punch of energy and could give ideas that someone that’s been in office for ten, twenty years may not be able to articulate,” said Anderson.

Anderson said voters seem to want candidates who can bring in new ideas and put them into action.

“If they don’t, then the people will say this guy isn’t offering anything relevant and will need a new voice,” said Anderson.

He said once politicians get into office, they tend to rely on controlled programs to get their word out to the public.

“Candidates have winning formulas of how to win office and stay in office and that can be a very good thing if it speaks to what the people are interested in, if it captivates our attention,” said Anderson.

But sometimes those formulas fall flat.

“Overtime if they don’t realize that society doesn’t stay still, they will have to understand changes and adapt to it,” said Anderson.

Anderson added that voters may feel like their one ballot isn’t going to change much, so they don’t participate in elections.

“There’s always pressure on them to try and communicate effectively with the voters and make them understand they what they do in Jackson or in the local county supervisor’s office is meaningful and their input is valuable,” said Anderson.

Anderson now has his eye on what those candidates are doing leading up to the run-offs and the general election.