By Billy Davis

An upset victory in Panola County’s District 5 ousted two-term Supervisor Bubba Waldrup in the Democratic Primary.

First-time candidate Cole Flint, who is 26, defeated Waldrup 1,227-576, winning a majority at all four voting precincts in the Democratic Primary.

“I knew I’d do well because I knocked on a lot of doors,” said Flint. “But I didn’t expect to do that good against an incumbent.”

He now advances to a November 8 match-up with independent candidate Chris Brocato.

Flint’s win marked only the second outright defeat in a Panola supervisor’s race Tuesday. Kelly Morris defeated challenger Jarrell Mills 1,174-742, also moving him to face independent and Republican challengers in November.

Meanwhile, three other races — in Districts 1, 2 and 3 — moved to run-off elections.

District 1 race

District 1 Supervisor James Birge moved to an August 23 runoff against Jesse Lyons. Birge finished with 795 votes compared to 592 for Lyons and 378 for David Arnold.

Birge carried three of four District 1 precincts — though not by much. He enjoyed the largest win at Pleasant Mount, where he led Lyons by 59 votes. The other wins were a 10-vote victory at Cold Springs and a one-vote win at West Sardis.

Arnold won the fourth precinct, at East Sardis, by 78 votes.

District 2 race

District 2 Supervisor Vernice Avant moved to a runoff against William Pride. She carried five of six precincts and finished with a 168-vote lead going into the runoff.

Pride carried Pleasant Grove while Avant won at South Sardis, Longtown, Crenshaw, Curtis and Macedonia-Concord.

Her strongest win was a 95-vote lead at South Sardis, where third candidate Tim Holliday also had his strongest showing. He finished third with 229 votes.

District 3 race

In District 3, incumbent Gary Thompson and challenger John Thomas move to a runoff after Thomas led Thompson and two other candidates in the primary.

Thomas won over Thompson 721-654, a 97-vote margin, after 2,353 votes were cast. 

Election returns showed Thomas defeated incumbent Thompson at three of four precincts, with Robert “B.B.” Lee carrying the fourth, in Courtland.

Thomas’s best showing was at Batesville No. 3, the Cliff Finch building on Eureka Street, where he enjoyed a 61-vote win over Thompson.

Lee finished third in the race with 536 votes followed by Donnie Shaw, who garnered 442.

District 4 race

District 4 voters cast ballots at five precincts, where Morris won four in the primary. Mills carried one, Cole’s Point, which he won 97-55.

Morris’s best showing came in Batesville, at the Extension Building, where he led Mills by 210 votes.

District 5 race

Election returns showed Flint defeated incumbent Waldrup at all four precincts. Flint’s best showing came at North Batesville B, the Patton Lane Community Center, where he won 485-159.

Both Flint and Waldrup reported that the incumbent called the challenger Wednesday after the election returns.

“I wished him the best of luck and said he’s got a lot to learn if he wins in November,” said Waldrup.

“I asked him if I could call him with any questions and he said, ‘Of course you can.’ So we swapped numbers,” said Flint.

Flint said he was concerned his age would be a factor in the primary. But he hoped voters would see his work experience, at UPS and his family’s hardware store, would outweigh concerns about his age.

“I’ve done a lot in a short period. That’s what I wanted people to see,” he said.

Although Waldrup was defeated Tuesday, he was set to return to work today, when the Board of Supervisors convenes at 4 p.m. to prepare its 2012 fiscal year budget.