The publicity surrounding the candidates in Mississippi’s presidential preference primary have Warren County election officials predicting a large turnout for Tuesday’s elections.

The March 8 primary is also the primary for congressional races.

Because the elections are party primaries, voters will have to give their party affiliation when they sign up to vote at the polls. All of the county’s 22 voting precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the election.

“I believe we’ll have a heavy turnout because of the interest in the presidential primary,” Warren County Election Commission chairman Sara Dionne said. “I think that’s what will bring the people out.”

Circuit Clerk Jan Hyland Daigre also predicts a heavy turnout, based on the number of voters casting absentee ballots. Absentee voting closed Saturday.

“We had right at 400,” she said Saturday. “It was brisk. We were busy today and yesterday.”

There are 29,000 registered voters in Warren County.

The congressional primary involves four Mississippi congressional seats, Districts 1 through 4.

The congressional race of local interest is the 2nd District, where incumbent Bennie Thompson is unopposed in the Democratic primary, but will face a challenge in November from Gulfport businessman John Bouie II, who is unopposed in the Republican primary.

The state’s Democratic presidential primary features five candidates on the ballot, Hillary Clinton, Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente, Martin O’Malley, Bernie Sanders and Willie Wilson who won a court battle to get on the ballot.

“The decision to put Wilson on the ballot forced the Secretary of State’s Office to have to reprint the Democratic ballot for the primary,” Dionne said.

While the Republican ballot features 13 candidates, she said, only four candidates are still in the race for the Republican nomination.

“That could cause confusion for the voters,” Dionne said.

The candidates still in the race include Ted Cruz, John R. Kasich, Marco Rubio and Donald Trump.

Former candidates Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee, George Pataki, Rand Paul and Rick Santorum have dropped out of the race since the ballot was printed. Ben Carson dropped out Friday.