{"id":13348,"date":"2026-02-23T16:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T23:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/heres-how-montezuma-countys-gop-caucuses-will-work-this-year\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:36:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:36:25","slug":"heres-how-montezuma-countys-gop-caucuses-will-work-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/heres-how-montezuma-countys-gop-caucuses-will-work-this-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s how Montezuma County\u2019s GOP caucuses will work this year"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"About
About 45 Montezuma County Republicans in Precinct 5 met at the Cortez Elks Club. (Jim Mimiaga\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Montezuma County Republicans will kick off a crowded election schedule March 5 as party members in 12 precincts gather for caucuses that will help set the field for the June primary.<\/p>\n

With six Republicans seeking the District 3 Commission seat and several other county offices on the ballot, party leaders expect the caucuses to play a larger role than usual. Local leaders are finalizing preparations for the grassroots process, where delegates chosen at caucus will determine which candidates advance.<\/p>\n

This year, six Republicans are vying for a seat on the county commission. That has created an unusually busy cycle, said Lenetta Shull, chair of the Republican Central Committee. She added that with the commissioner\u2019s race being more competitive, it may drive higher turnout.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome to your caucus so your voice can be heard,\u201d Shull said of voter participation. \u201cIt\u2019s quite a process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Voters will also decide races for sheriff, clerk and recorder, assessor, treasurer and coroner.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s happening March 5<\/div>\n

On March 5, the 12 precinct caucuses are open to registered Republicans. At the caucus, voters do not cast a traditional ballot for candidates but instead select delegates who will represent the precinct at the county Republican assembly March 21. The process takes several hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, at the caucuses, they present resolutions on legislation that pertains more to our county than the whole state,\u201d Shull said.<\/p>\n

Delegates chosen at the caucus also advance to higher-level assemblies, including House District 58, House District 59, Senate District 6 and Congressional District 3.<\/p>\n

Across Montezuma County, the precinct caucuses have more than 130 potential county assembly delegates, along with alternates in case delegates cannot attend. In addition, elected Republican officials and local party officers serve as at-large delegates.<\/p>\n

Those delegates vote at the county assembly to decide which candidates qualify for the Republican primary ballot in June.<\/p>\n

Shull said voters may show up early March 5 to begin the credential process.<\/p>\n

She added that voters need to attend the correct precinct caucus. The best approach is to visit the committee\u2019s website and use its find\u2011precinct tool. By entering your address, the site identifies your specific caucus location and automatically completes pre-registration.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t preregister it is fine, because we have a list. We will check your ID. So you have to bring your ID so that we can credential you in,\u201d Shull said.<\/p>\n

\n

Thursday, March 5, 2026 \u2013 Republican Precinct Caucus locations:<\/p>\n

Precinct 1 <\/strong>Pleasant View Fire Department15235 Road CC, Pleasant View<\/p>\n

Precinct 2<\/strong>Dolores Public Library1002 Railroad Ave., Dolores<\/p>\n

Precinct 3<\/strong>Lewis-Arriola Fire Department21145 Road S, Cortez<\/p>\n

Precinct 4<\/strong>Lighthouse Baptist Church11502 Colorado 145, Cortez<\/p>\n

Precinct 5<\/strong>Lighthouse Baptist Church<\/p>\n

Precinct 6<\/strong>Cortez Chamber of Commerce20 W. Main St., Cortez<\/p>\n

Precinct 7<\/strong>Cortez Chamber of Commerce<\/p>\n

Precinct 8<\/strong>Cortez Chamber of Commerce<\/p>\n

Precinct 9<\/strong>Cortez Chamber of Commerce<\/p>\n

Precinct 10<\/strong>Cortez Chamber of Commerce<\/p>\n

Precinct 11<\/strong>Mesa Trails Cowboy Church281 W. Menefee St., Mancos<\/p>\n

Precinct 12<\/strong>Mesa Trails Cowboy Church<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

How candidates qualify for the primary ballot<\/div>\n

How candidates qualify for the primary ballot<\/p>\n

Candidates have multiple paths to get on the primary ballot: the assembly route, petition route or a combination of both.<\/p>\n

Assembly route:<\/strong> Candidates may seek support directly from delegates at the county assembly. Those who receive about 30% of delegate votes advance to the primary.<\/p>\n

Petition route:<\/strong> Candidates bypass the assembly and petition onto the ballot by collecting signatures through the clerk\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

Hybrid option:<\/strong> Some candidates pursue a combination of delegate support and petition signatures.<\/p>\n

There is no set limit on how many candidates may appear on the primary ballot, Shull said.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s County Commissioner race is drawing particular attention, with several Republican candidates competing and a series of debates aimed at informing voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re going to see a lot more participation,\u201d Shull said. \u201cI think we have an excellent group of candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shull, who has led the local party for several years, said increasing participation has been a priority. She said attendance at Republican meetings has grown from mostly precinct officers to standing-room-only crowds.<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s next public forum for candidates across the GOP, Democratic and unaffiliated candidate parties will include those running for commissioner and the other offices. The event is sponsored by the San Juan Basin Farm Bureau in partnership with the Young Republicans group. It starts at 6 p.m. at the Cortez Chamber of Commerce, 20 W. Main St.<\/p>\n

awatson@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

vying for commissioner, caucuses fill larger role this year<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-13348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13348"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77067,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13348\/revisions\/77067"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13348"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=13348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}