DENVER – Colorado’s presidential primaries for both parties will be held on Super Tuesday, March 3, 2020, Gov. Jared Polis and Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced Tuesday.
Super Tuesday will be the first presidential primary held in Colorado in 20 years.
The change from a caucus nomination system for presidential nominees came after Colorado voters passed Proposition 107 in 2016, which re-established presidential primaries in the state and opened them up to unaffiliated voters.
Polis and Griswold had until later this year to establish a date for the primary and made the announcement Tuesday at the state Capitol. They considered the first, second and third Tuesdays in March 2020.
Both said the change would benefit Colorado voters and turnout, saying the switch from caucuses to primaries would allow more people to participate.
As is the case in non-presidential primaries, unaffiliated voters will receive both Republican and Democratic primary ballots and will be able to choose one on which they vote. Turnout in the 2018 midterm election ranked second in the country, with 63% of eligible Colorado voters participating, Griswold said.
Both Polis and Griswold said they hoped that having the primary on Super Tuesday would encourage candidate from both parties to come to Colorado to campaign. Polis said that Colorado would be one of the only states with Super Tuesday primaries that would be competitive in November.
Colorado will join Alabama, Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia in holding Super Tuesday primaries.
Colorado’s caucuses will still be held to determine whether some of the nonpresidential candidates will make their respective ballots and to determine delegates for party conventions.
The state primary will take place on June 30 and the 2020 General Election is set for Nov. 3, 2020.
