AUSTIN — Democrats showed up in far greater numbers than Republicans on the first day of early voting for the March 4 Texas primaries.

Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton will debate Thursday night in Austin.

Democratic leaders and the Secretary of State's Office had predicted voter turnout could be high for the Texas primary because of the close presidential nomination race.

Early voting runs through February 29th.

Yesterday — the first day of early voting — more than 65,000 people cast ballots in the state's 15 most populous counties in the Democratic primary.

In the Republican primary, nearly 26,000 voters cast ballots in those 15 counties.

The GOP delegate race is all but locked up by Arizona Senator John McCain, though ex-Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee hasn't quit and is campaigning in Texas.