March 02, 2016 02:26 PM UTC

Democratic Caucus Attendance Breaks Record

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Statement from the Colorado Democratic Party:

Last night’s Democratic caucus in Colorado was one for the record books. Nearly 122,000 Coloradans caucused for our two presidential candidates, breaking our 2008 turnout record of 120,000.

In stark contrast, the Colorado GOP muffled its voters’ voices by deciding to scrap their caucus altogether – leading to some brutal press coverage like this editorial in The Denver Post, “Colorado GOP blundered on 2016 presidential caucus.”

It goes without saying that Coloradans are energized and ready to elect a Democrat as the 45th President of the United States, while Republicans are in disarray and denial that Donald Trump is well on his way to becoming the Republican nominee.

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Thank you to the more than 120,000 Coloradans who came to #CODemCaucus! Proud of the amazing turnout to make CO voices heard. #copolitics

— Colorado Dems (@coloradodems) March 2, 2016

The Colorado Democratic Party is now reporting over 122,000 presidential caucus participants last night across the state. If accurate, that total surpasses the 2008 Democratic caucus to become the biggest presidential caucus in the state’s history.

As the Fort Collins Coloradoan reports, the crush of attendees sent the fire marshals into action:

Democratic voters outside Fort Collins’ Lincoln Middle School took to the trees Tuesday night to participate in their party’s crowded caucus.

As firefighters and police looked on, the overflow crowd at the school spilled outside to support presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Some took to the trees outside the school so their voices would be heard. Shortly before 8 p.m., Colorado Democratic State Sen. John Kefalas tweeted that he was part of “historic” crowds at the school, “preparing to vote under stars.”

In a scene recreated across Colorado Tuesday night, the throng of Fort Collins voters overwhelmingly cast their support behind Sanders, allowing the Vermont independent-turned-Democrat to claim victory in Colorado even as Clinton swept many of the other Super Tuesday states.

The huge crowds of Colorado Democrats who turned out to caucus yesterday were motivated to join the tally by Bernie Sanders’ electrifying campaign: either as supporters of Bernie, or Hillary Clinton backers hoping to keep up in a race Sanders was always expected to win. The end result in Colorado, a decisive victory for Sanders, helped the Sanders campaign keep their game face on a night where Clinton won many more votes, delegates, and states.

Looking beyond the Democratic presidential race, the strong turnout by Colorado Democratic caucusgoers for both candidates is another reminder that Colorado, a “swing” state, is populated by a large number of true-blue Democratic voters. In recent years it hasn’t been the left in the streets, it’s been the “Tea Party.” The far right has made so much noise politically that it’s easy to forget about the voters who quietly add the blue to the attention-seeking red to make this state purple.

But folks, that electorate is out there, waiting to be rallied to action as Bernie Sanders did last night. Therein lies a powerful lesson for Colorado Democrats with the courage to learn it. A “purple state” does not mean you have to mute your progressive values to win here.

That realization is more important than the result of any one caucus.