David DeMille

ddemille@thespectrum.com

Utahns are expected to turn out in record numbers to neighborhood caucuses across the state on Tuesday, given a rare chance for some presidential race spotlight thanks to still-contentious races among both the Republican and Democratic candidates.

Billionaire Donald Trump , Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich all held events in Utah over the past several days, aiming for the state’s 40 delegates to the GOP’s national convention.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders drew a large crowd for a rally in Salt Lake City, and Hillary Clinton had her daughter Chelsea Clinton helping the campaign with a series of events. Both candidates are vying for 37 available delegates.

Candidates have flooded Utah airwaves and newspapers with advertising campaigns.

The Utah Republican Party announced Saturday that at least 30,000 party members are expected to participate in an online presidential preference vote — one of the first such online options made available anywhere in the country — and party heads say they expect some 200,000 participants overall. That would easily break the party’s previous record of 120,000 set in 2012.

The Democratic Party isn’t offering an online option — leadership indicated they didn’t want to spend $80,000 to set up the program like their GOP counterparts did — but they still expect large crowds at their 90 meeting sites across the state.

“It’s going to be like we’ve never seen before,” said Lauren Littlefield, the executive director of the Utah Democratic Party, stressing that both Clinton and Sanders have generated energetic followings.

Caucuses for both of the state’s two main political parties start Tuesday evening, with the majority of the meetings starting at 7 p.m., while doors open in most places at 6 p.m.

Interested residents can find their meeting sites by visiting www.utgop.org or www.utahdemocrats.org . Additional help is available online at vote.utah.gov.

Follow David DeMille on Twitter,@SpectrumDeMille, and on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/SpectrumDeMille. Call him at 435-674-6261.

More on Utah caucuses

In the Utah caucus system, potential voters gather for caucuses to elect precinct leadership as well as delegates. The delegates then represent their neighborhoods at the state and county conventions where they could select the party nominees for each race.

Republican Party caucuses are scheduled from 7 p.m. at locations across Washington and Iron counties. Only registered party members may vote. Registration is available starting at 6 p.m. Visit utah.gop or log onto vote.utah.gov to find your precinct. More information is available by emailing info@utah.gop or calling (801) 533-9777.

Democratic Party caucuses are scheduled at 6 p.m. at multiple locations in Washington County or at Canyon View Middle School in Iron County. Participants do not need to be affiliated with the Democratic Party. More information is available at utahdemocrats.org, by emailing mail@utdem.org or by calling (801) 328-1212.

Both parties require a valid state-issued identification card, such as a driver's license, to vote.

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