Colorado will conduct next year’s presidential party primaries on March 5, known as Super Tuesday, Gov. Jared Polis announced on Thursday.

Polis said he expects that national attention on the date will boost participation by presidential candidates and voters.

“Our state will benefit from increased awareness around Super Tuesday which we all hope continues Colorado’s record of strong voter turnout across the political spectrum and ensures that candidates speak to issues that are important to Coloradans,” Polis said in a statement.

Colorado joins at least 14 other states holding presidential contests on the crowded election day, including delegate-rich California and Texas.

The first Tuesday in March has long been known as Super Tuesday because it has traditionally been the largest multiple-state election on the presidential nominating calendar, which stretches from January to June.

According to a still-evolving nominating calendar, only six states will have held presidential primaries or caucuses by the time votes are counted in Colorado and its fellow Super Tuesday states.

The state’s 1.8 million unaffiliated voters – nearly 47% of registered voters – can cast ballots in either major party’s presidential primary under a ballot measure approved in 2016.

Unlike four years ago, when then-President Donald Trump dominated the sparse Republican field while more than a dozen Democrats were vying for their party’s nomination, next year’s GOP presidential primary will likely draw the most attention.

Trump is one of 15 declared Republican candidates in a field that has recently been growing by the week. Other GOP hopefuls include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden is so far facing challenges from environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and spiritual guide and author Marianne Williamson.

In 2020, Trump won the state’s Republican presidential primary by an overwhelming margin. The same night, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won Colorado’s Democratic primary, though Biden carried 10 other Super Tuesday states and pulled into what turned out to be an insurmountable lead for the nomination.

“Colorado voters are among the most engaged and active in the nation, and I am confident that will continue to be the case during the presidential primary,” said Secretary of State Jena Griswold in a statement.

Leaders of the state’s major political parties hailed the decision to hold the primary on the prominent date.

“Coloradans deserve to have their voices heard on the national stage, and having our presidential primary on Super Tuesday will ensure that candidates from both parties invest in earning their trust,” said Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib in a statement.

Dave Williams, his state GOP counterpart, praised the move.

“Colorado Republicans are excited about our presidential primary falling on Super Tuesday, and we thank Governor Jared Polis for making this great decision so all Coloradans can benefit from increased attention and energy as all the major presidential campaigns compete for our state,” Williams said in a statement.

Voters approved the move to a presidential primary in 2016 by passing Initiative 107 with 64% of the vote. The law lets the governor to pick a date for the primary from the first three Tuesdays in March.

Colorado held presidential primaries from 1992 to 2000 but scrapped the process in favor of precinct caucuses, largely due to financial reasons.

The state will conduct a separate primary next year on June 25 for all other partisan races on the ballot, including for county, legislative and congressional offices.

In addition to California and Texas, other states holding next year’s presidential nominating contests on Super Tuesday are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia. Democrats in American Samoa have scheduled caucuses for the same day.