Bernie Sanders galvanized a crowd of more than 10,000 with a populist message against inequality.
“No real change has happened in this country from the top down,” Sanders said, as supporters roared. “It occurred from the bottom up.”
Hillary Clinton’s campaign hosted a small event that featured party leaders and teary families affected by gun violence.
“She will fight to make our families safer,” said former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona.
The campaign events, hours apart Saturday, showcased the differences between the Democratic presidential rivals in style and substance as they spent the day in Denver before the state’s March 1 caucus.
The contrast continued at the Colorado Democratic Party’s annual fundraising dinner, where a record crowd of 1,500 paid at least $150 to hear Clinton and Sanders offer their competing visions for the future.
Taking the stage first, Clinton gave an impassioned 30-minute speech that appealed directly to Colorado voters, as she criticized Republicans in the statehouse for their anti-abortion measures and applauded the reopening of the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs after a gunman stormed the facility in November.
“They are living proof that violence and misogyny have no place in this country, and they won’t stop us from doing what we know is right for the women of America,” she said.
Clinton struck an optimistic tone as she focused on raising incomes for the middle class, addressing student debt and continuing the fight toward universal health care.
“There’s a lot we can do,” she said, “not just to stop bad things from happening but to make good things happen in America again.”
Still, without naming Sanders, Clinton continued to criticize her rival as a “single-issue candidate” with an impractical vision. “I’m not making promises I can’t keep,” she said, referencing her challenger, adding later: “Now more than ever we need a president who can do all parts of the job.”
Acknowledging the mood that is propelling Sanders in the early states, Clinton said that “people are angry, and they have every right to be. But they are also hungry, hungry for solutions they can count on.”
Moments later, Sanders took the stage in front of a room of well-heeled Democrats and called for a more inclusive party not controlled by wealthy donors.
“The Democratic Party nationally, and in every state in this country, will do well when we open the doors to those people, to working people and young people, when we say ‘Come on in. This is your party,’ ” he said.
Thanking the huge crowd that attended his rally before the dinner, Sanders said “on Super Tuesday people are going to be very, very surprised about election results in Colorado.”
In his speech, the Vermont senator hammered his familiar campaign themes but took a harder line on the issues. He drew chants of “Feel the Bern” when he called for “an economy that works for all Americans and not just the top 1 percent.”
Sanders said America is one of the few countries in the world that does not guarantee paid family leave and universal health care. And he pledged to continue to work for single-payer health care system.
“I do believe health care is a right of all people, not a privilege,” he said.
The candidates are competing for the state’s 78 delegates — 12 of which are superdelegates largely committed to Clinton.
For months, the campaigns built operations in Colorado, opening offices and recruiting volunteers, but the efforts are hitting full tilt now before the caucus.
Staff writer Elizabeth Hernandez contributed to this report.
Updated Feb 24, 2016 at 5:36p.m.Because of incorrect information provided by the Colorado Democratic Party, this story about the party’s annual fundraiser featuring Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders included incorrect delegate counts. Colorado Democrats have 78 delegates, 12 of which are superdelegates.
