If voters are having trouble keeping track of candidates for Michael Bennet’s U.S. Senate seat, they might add the growing pool of El Paso County commissioner races.

In the past two weeks, Karen Cullen and Jarred Rego, joined the race, bringing the total to 13 people running for three open commissioner seats.

With the District 2, 3 and 4 seats open because of term limits, the November election is the first commissioner election in more than a decade that will include incumbents.

“When you look at a situation where you have three seats coming open for the first time in 12 years, now is the first time to get some fresh eyes and fresh assessments,” said Rego, who declared his candidacy on Thursday.

Rego and Cullen are two of seven District 3 candidates hoping to replace Sallie Clark. The district encompasses Colorado Springs’ west side and stretches to the county’s border with Teller County. Since 2012, Clark has been heavily involved in the recovery from a wildfire and floods, two disasters that have hit District 3 particularly hard. Clark has endorsed Cullen.

Both Rego and Cullen give wildfire and disaster recovery a high priority, along with limiting regulatory obstacles to promote small business growth. Cullen has been a realtor and small business owner. Rego is a former the city of Colorado Springs’ communications office staffer and now is the communications director for Congressman Doug Lamborn.

The District 3 race also includes Rodney Gehrett, a commander with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, Javier Mazzetti, Alex Johnson, Tyler Stevens and Stan Vanderwerf.

While District 3 claims the title for the most competition, District 4 and District 2 candidates will all face a slew of opponents. There are four candidates in District 4 – Scott Turner, Longinos Gonzalez, Lucia-Treese and the race’s lone Democratic candidate, Elizabeth Rosenbaum. The race for District 2 has three candidates – former state legislator Mark Waller, and newcomers Tim Geitner and Sherrie Gibson.

While most of the candidates will participate in the March 1 caucus to get their names on the ballot, a few might choose an alternative route. Both Cullen and Rego have not decided whether they will participate in the caucus or go the petition route, they both said on Thursday.

The race has already lost a few candidates. Marsha Brewer, a candidate for District 4, dropped out in October after her husband, Jimmie Ray Brewer, was arrested on suspicion of sex assault against a child. In mid January, Brewer pleaded guilty to sex assault on a child by one in a position of trust.

Secretary of State records show that Susan Payne, a District 3 candidate, has also dropped out of the race, although she could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

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The Gazette’s Maria St. Louis-Sanchez contributed to this story.

Karen Cullen (left) and Jarred Rego are the latest to join the race for three open commissioner seats.