By LAUREN WEST

NATCHEZ — Mississippi voters will go to the polls Tuesday in runoff election to select party candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives 3rd Congressional District seat being vacated by Gregg Harper and the U.S. Senate seat held by Roger Wicker.

For the U.S. House of Representatives 3rd Congressional District, Republican voters will choose between two candidates, Michael Guest and Whit Hughes.

In the June 5 Republican primary Guest received 44.8 percent of the vote with 28,728 votes and Hughes received 22.3 percent of the vote with14,250 votes, forcing a runoff because Mississippi requires a candidate to earn more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff.

For the U.S. Senate bid, Democratic candidates Howard Sherman and David Baria will face off for a chance to challenge Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, who currently holds the position.

In the June 5 primary, Sherman earned 31.9 percent of the vote with 27,358 votes and Baria garnered 31 percent of the vote with 26,568 votes.

Winners of Tuesday’s primary runoff elections for their party’s nominations will go on to compete in the Nov. 6 general election.

Polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., on Tuesday. Per the rules of runoff election, voters who voted in the June 5 party primaries as either Republican or Democrat will not be allowed to switch parties in Tuesday’s vote. Voters who did not participate in the primary elections June 5 can vote in the runoff for whichever party they choose.