What to know about the 2026 caucuses in Colorado Springs

State of play: El Paso County Republicans hold their precinct caucuses Tuesday at 7pm. The county Democratic party caucuses run Tuesday through Thursday.

How it works: Registered Democrats and Republicans will gather this week at schools, churches and Zoom meetings for neighborhood precinct caucus.

• The meeting times and dates vary, but must take place by Saturday.
• Each precinct selects delegates to send to the county assemblies. These delegates represent votes for certain candidates.
• A candidate needs support from 30% of the delegates at a county or state assembly to qualify for the ballot. This is the preferred option for candidates with limited campaign fundraising or those favored by party activists.

Yes, but: A candidate can also qualify by submitting petitions with voter signatures. Those running for statewide office must submit 1,500 valid signatures from registered members of their party in the state's eight congressional districts, for a total of 12,000.

The intrigue: U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, both Democrats, chose to submit petitions in their respective races, U.S. Senate and governor, rather than compete in the caucuses.

What's next: You can watch your political party's upcoming county and state assemblies (GOP here, Dems here) to see if your chosen candidate will make the primary ballot.