Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Five Republican presidential candidates, including national front-runners Donald Trump and Ben Carson, have already filed to compete in the Utah GOP's presidential caucus next year.
Besides political outsiders Trump and Carson, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have signed up so far to run in Utah, state GOP Executive Director Bryan Smith said Wednesday.
Candidates in the crowded race for the party's nomination have until Dec. 11 to submit the paperwork and the $7,500 fee required by the Utah Republican Party to participate in the March 22 election.
Unlike in past presidential primaries, Utah Republicans will vote either online or at their neighborhood caucus meetings held that night. Smith said the fees collected will help the party cover the cost of running the election.
Utah Democrats are also holding a presidential caucus, but party leaders said an option to vote online was too expensive. The Utah Legislature chose not to fund a $3 million presidential primary election after the GOP announced its caucus plans.
Five Democratic candidates notified the Utah Democratic Party they intended to compete in the party caucus, but two, former Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee and Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, have already dropped out of the race.
State Democratic Party Executive Director Lauren Littlefield said former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders; and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, have until Feb. 5 to finalize their candidacies in Utah.
That means filling out a form and paying a $2,500 fee. In lieu of the fee, candidates can submit 1,000 signatures from voters in each of the state's four congressional districts, Littlefield said.
The votes cast in both the Republican and Democratic caucuses are used by the state parties to determine who their delegates will support at the national nominating conventions.
