Sanpete political parties prepare for March 17 caucus meetings

The 2026 election season kicks off in Sanpete County Tuesday, March 17, with Republican, Democrat and Constitution Party caucus meetings.
Republicans have scheduled meetings for each of the 27 precincts in the county, beginning at 7 p.m. Democrats will hold a single countywide meeting by Zoom, also beginning at 7. The Constitution Party will hold a countywide meeting in the Senior Citizens Center at the Spring City Community Center 150 E. Center Street, with registration beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The caucuses are the beginning point in getting the parties organized for the 2026 election season and selecting nominees for governor, U.S. Congress, county commission and the Utah Legislature, among other offices.

Because the Republicans are the overwhelmingly dominant political party in the county, they will have the most organizing and nominating activity on Tuesday. You must be a registered Republican to participate. But there will be an opportunity to register as a Republican prior to your caucus.
Locations of Republican caucuses are shown in the accompanying chart. In most locations, all participants will meet as a group first before splitting into individual precincts.

Each precinct is asked to elect a precinct chair and vice chair, who will chair precinct meetings (including future caucuses). They are asked to attend two Utah Republican Central Committee meetings and two county conventions during their two-year tenure.

The meetings will also elect delegates to a county convention, usually held in April, which will select nominees for county commissioner. Two seats on the commission are up this year—one held by Commission Chairman Scott Bartholomew, who is not seeking reelection, and one held by Jim Cheney, who is the only candidate to file for the office.

Other openings to be addressed at the county convention include county clerk, county attorney, county auditor and sheriff. Candidates have filed to challenge the incumbents for auditor and sheriff.

According to the Republican Party website, some delegates elected at the Republican caucuses Tuesday will also be designated as state delegates and will be expected to attend a state convention, schedule for May 17 at Utah Valley University.

The state convention will nominate candidates to run in the Republican primary for statewide and national offices, and for multicounty seats in the Legislature.

In the Democratic Party, Alison Anderson and Enoch Brown, party leaders in the county, have sent an email to people who have attended previous conventions. The email contains a link to the Zoom meeting. Almost everyone who attends will have a chance to be designated as a delegate to the Democratic state convention April 25.

If you didn’t get an email, you’re invited to text Anderson at (801) 891-9012 or Brown at (435) 314-9351 anytime on March 17 with your name, phone number and email address. You will receive an email with the Zoom link.

Or you’re invited to drop by Anderson’s house at 390 S. 100 West in Spring City anytime on March 17 to “sign up and get a cookie.” Signs for caucus night will be in front of the house.

The Constitution Party is asking caucuses attendees to pay registration fees of $5 per individual or $8 per couple. Joel Skousen, the Constitution Party nominee for president in 2024, will be the guest speaker.