With what appears to be a firm lead in the polling, Barak Obama heads into Mississippi today to battle for those all-important delegates with senator Hillary Clinton. 33 delegates are up for grabs in a state that is actually heavily Republican by nature.

Mississippi has not voted for a Democratic candidate for president in 32 years, but some sources say that this election could be different. Strong voter turn out on the Democratic side has many of the major pollsters saying that several of the states could be a toss up this time around.

Barack Obama is heading into Mississippi today with strong support from the African-American population, which makes up 36% of the  Mississippi population, while also making up 70% of the Democratic voting base in the state. Mississippi also holds open primaries, meaning that both Independents and Republicans can vote in the Democratic race today. Obama has steadily been able to increase his support among both Independents and Republicans during this campaign, while maintaining a strong lead in overall African-American support.

Clinton on the other hand, while still focusing on Pennsylvania as her new firewall, is not expected to fair very well in the primary today. Recent polls suggest she is down by double-digits, but the Clinton campaign is simply looking to add a few delegates today, knowing that victory is very unlikely.

Voter turnout is expected to be huge in Mississippi today, giving the state and the voters, a chance to have their voice heard in this critical primary contest. In the 2004 primary election, John Kerry overwhelmingly won the state with just 76,000 people actually casting a vote. We are expecting to see the numbers quite larger for this cycle, which some sources are saying could be the largest numbers in history for the state of Mississippi.

Cable news coverage of the Mississippi primary results starts at 8pm Eastern tonight on CNN and MSNBC.