The 2018 election in Colorado begins in earnest Tuesday as statewide campaigns deploy to shopping malls, street corners and parking lots to gather the 10,500 voter signatures needed to get their candidates on the ballot.

Much of the attention will focus on the governor’s race, where new campaign rules and a crowded field of Democratic and Republican candidates will make it difficult to secure a spot on the June 26 primary ballot.

For Republicans, the petition push is the first since forged signatures and lawsuits stained the 2016 primary for U.S. Senate and derailed once-promising candidates. For Democrats, it’s the first major statewide primary since 2010. And for all candidates, the decision about how to navigate the difficult path to the ballot represents the first test of strength as to whether they can win the primary and the all-important general election in November.

2018 candidates for Colorado governor Who is running for governor of Colorado in 2018? (And who is on the fence?)

“We’re going to start collecting tomorrow,” said Democrat Noel Ginsburg of his campaign’s decision to begin its petition-gathering drive on the first day allowed by election officials.

In Colorado, statewide candidates for governor, attorney general, treasurer and secretary of state can qualify for their party primary ballot two different ways: by collecting voter signatures on a petition or gathering support through the caucus process.

Either approach is worthy of a reality TV show, and both are fraught with peril.

To petition, the candidates must collect 1,500 signatures from registered voters in their party in each of the state’s seven congressional districts within two months. Most often the process involves hiring collectors to stand outside populated places, such as grocery stores, and ask voters to sign a petition in support of a candidate.

But there’s a catch: A voter’s signature can only count once, so the first candidate to submit each gets credit, meaning speed matters in collecting petitions. In 2016, candidates who petitioned had 30 to 40 percent of their signatures disqualified.

The cost to collect petitions can run more than $200,000 — a huge sum in a race were the maximum contribution is a combined $1,150 per person for the primary and general elections.

But the caucus process has its own challenges.

To secure a ballot slot, a candidate must win 30 percent of the vote at the state party assembly, which limits the number of candidates who advance to a maximum of three. It all starts by winning delegates at the neighborhood-level caucus meetings March 6 — essentially a one-on-one retail politicking that favors candidates with die-hard supporters.

“When you do the math you just have to be ready,” said U.S. Rep. Jared Polis of Boulder, a Democratic candidate for governor. “Because you need to get your name on the ballot in order to win.”

How the candidates will try to make the ballot

If the candidate receives between 10 and 30 percent at the assembly, they can still use petitions to qualify for the ballot. But if they receive less than 10 percent, they are eliminated on the spot.

In 2017, Colorado lawmakers approved a major change that moved the petition-gathering period forward three weeks and put the deadline to return them at March 20. The date falls before the state party assemblies, meaning the candidates essentially have to pick one path or the other, unlike the past where candidates could more easily use the petition process as a backup option.

“This year, it’s a little convoluted,” said Craig Hughes, a top Democratic strategist advising several statewide candidates.

Polis is the one candidate seeking to pursue both avenues, and he is possibly the only candidate with the money and fan base to make it possible.

“I’m excited to be participating in the caucus process and we want to make sure we’re also ready to turn in petitions to ensure my name is on the ballot,” he said in an interview. “We’re participating in caucus, and we hope to get on the ballot through the caucus and assembly process — but at the end of the day we want to make sure that my name is on the ballot.”

Most of the other leading Democratic candidates are collecting voter signatures, worried that the crowded field will make it hard to reach the 30 percent threshold at assembly. The other candidates taking the petition route include Ginsburg, Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne and former state Sen. Mike Johnston. The campaigns for Lynne and Johnston are adding staff and contractors to do the job rather than hire a private firm, as is more customary. Johnston also said he is keeping his options open to potentially enter the assembly process at a later date.

Cary Kennedy, the former state treasurer, is the only prominent Democrat committing to the caucus. Her campaign said it shows her commitment to the party process, and taps into her statewide network.

On the Republican side, state Treasurer Walker Stapleton, investment banker Doug Robinson and businessman and former state Rep. Victor Mitchell are also collecting signatures.

“No matter who you are, it’s never a guarantee you can get in,” said Brett Maney, a spokeswoman for Robinson, about the risk of going the assembly path.

Only Tom Tancredo, a former congressman, two-time candidate for governor and favorite of conservative activists, has firmly committed to the assembly approach. Tancredo said the choice came down to the high cost of collecting petitions and the hope that an assembly win would give him a boost from the party faithful.

The GOP candidates’ decision reflects the direction of the party, said Dick Wadhams, a former party chairman. “It’s an acknowledgment that the caucus-assembly process has moved right over the last several election cycles, and it’s dominated by the more conservative wing of the party,” he said. “So if you aren’t tied to that part of the party … it’s difficult to get on the ballot at the assembly.”

Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, a Republican, remains a wild card after entering the race late. Her campaign did not respond Monday to messages seeking comment.

2016 Senate race offers cautionary tale

The chaotic 2016 race for U.S. Senate on the Republican side illustrates the challenges ahead. Darryl Glenn, then a little-known El Paso County commissioner, gave a powerful speech at the state convention that shut out his rival, state Sen. Tim Neville.

The upset left Glenn as the only candidate to emerge from the convention, saving the cash-strapped candidate the time and cost of collecting voter signatures. Three of his challengers initially failed to qualify by petition and only landed on the ballot after filing lawsuits that corrected errors made in gathering signatures. A signature gatherer for former state Rep. Jon Keyser, once a leading candidate, also pleaded guilty to forging voters’ names.

The setback cost Keyser, Robert Blaha and Ryan Frazier, and Glenn would go on that year to win the GOP primary, narrowing beating Jack Graham, the first candidate to submit petitions and the only one to do it successfully.

Ahead of the 2018 campaign, state lawmakers approved a new law that requires the secretary of state’s office to verify each signature with voting records.