Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders will hold a rally in Lawrence on Thursday at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.

The announcement by the Sanders campaign was welcome news for some local Democrats, who said they are often not paid as much attention from Democratic candidates during national campaigns because of Kansas’ overwhelmingly Republican population.

“One of the largest concerns for me as a Democrat is that the national Democratic Party ignores Kansas, party because we don’t have the electoral votes that they want,” said Mike Wendel-Hummell, chairman of the Douglas County Coalition for Bernie Sanders. “And Bernie Sanders has made a point from the beginning that this is a 50-state effort by him.”

The rally will begin at 7 p.m. at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 1930 Harper St. The event is free and open to the public. Doors will open at 4 p.m., and admission is first come, first served. Chairs and signs or banners on sticks will not be allowed, and the campaign asks attendees to not bring bags.

Sanders — a senator from Vermont whose campaign has been geared toward the middle class, and focused on issues such as wealth inequality and getting money out of politics — will host his rally at what some might call a fitting venue. The rally will take place in the fairgrounds’ indoor arena, a large community building with a dirt floor that is often used for events involving livestock.

David Sparkes, director of maintenance for Douglas County, said there are several preparations already underway for the event, including compacting the arena’s dirt floor to create a surface hard enough for wheelchairs. Before that, though, several workers cleared the arena on Tuesday of livestock pins and gating, he said.

“We’re having to get the ground ready inside the building,” Sparkes said. “We were set up for a cattle weigh-in over the weekend, and everything like that, so we’re having to pull some gating.”

Once the ground is ready, Sparkes said, bleachers will be installed on the concrete portions along the building’s perimeter. Sparkes estimated that the arena is approximately 50,000 square feet and can hold about 5,000 people. The main area for the general public will be in the center of the arena, he said.

Sanders has trailed front-running Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in primary election results thus far. Sanders’ talking points for the Lawrence rally will be varied, including “getting big money out of politics, his plan to make public colleges and universities tuition-free, combating climate change and ensuring universal health care,” according to a news release.

Jordan Jerkovich, a member of the group KU students for Bernie, said that Sanders’ visit to Lawrence will provide a lot of momentum for the campaign locally and in the state. Jerkovich, a senior from Salina, also said that the timing of the event indicates the campaign will continue past “Super Tuesday,” when a number of state primaries and caucuses are held and after which a good portion of electoral votes will be spoken for.

“I think that people are kind of suggesting that depending on the results (Tuesday), he might not make it to the end,” Jerkovich said. “But I think at least what this shows is that he’s definitely planning for a full 50-state swing for the primaries and caucuses.”

Sparkes said he expects crowds to begin lining up long before the doors open, at which point he said security will begin screening people and letting them into the arena. Because of some construction on the fairgrounds, he said that parking is less than usual, but he estimated about 1,000 cars would be able to park on the grounds surrounding the arena.

Several states held primaries or caucuses on Tuesday, where Clinton showed early leads. Republican and Democratic caucuses will be held across Kansas on Saturday.