Bernie Sanders touts Morgan Carroll in Highlands Ranch

The focus was on former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders at a Morgan Carroll campaign rally in Highlands Ranch the night of Nov. 5.

Three days before the general election, Sanders implored the crowd to not only vote for Carroll –; who is challenging Republican incumbent Mike Coffman in Congressional District 6 –; but also to cast their ballots for his former opponent in the Democratic presidential primary, Hillary Clinton.

“In the next three days, do everything you can to see that Hillary Clinton and Morgan Carroll are elected,” the Vermont senator told the approximately 1,000 people gathered in the ThunderRidge High School gym.

Sanders proved popular with Colorado Democrats while he was challenging Clinton, winning the majority of the state’s delegates in the caucus in March running to her left while mainly focusing on economic issues.

Carroll, an Aurora Democrat, spoke ahead of Sanders, laying out her platform and heavily emphasizing campaign-finance reform and student debt relief.

“We need real student debt reform in D.C.,” she said, calling for lower interest rates and legislation to allow for refinancing of student loans.

Carroll said the race is close in the district, which includes Aurora, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, Littleton and part of Adams County.

District 31 state Rep. Joe Salazar and former senator and secretary of the interior Ken Salazar spoke as well, criticizing Coffman and attempting to tie him to the positions of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Sanders called for universal health care and a higher minimum wage, but did not mention Colorado’s two ballot initiatives on those issues –; Amendment 69, which would establish a statewide health care system, and Amendment 70, which would raise the minimum wage to $ 12 per hour by 2020.

He also assured his fans in the audience that Clinton stands for what he stands for on issues ranging from free college education and health care to criminal justice reform to climate policy. In addition, he criticized the pharmaceutical industry for high prescription drug prices.

“I’ve got a message for the drug companies,” Sanders said. “Either you’re going to voluntarily lower your prices or we’re going to do it for you.”

Sanders also criticized the role of money in the political system, calling the United States a political and economic oligarchy, and saying that Clinton had told him that in the first 100 days of her administration, she would propose a constitutional amendment overturning the 2010 Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission.The 5-4 decision held that political financial contributions by corporations and unions are protected speech.

“(Republicans) think it is a wonderful idea that billionaires can pour millions of dollars into this congressional district,” he said.

Sanders called for student loan forgiveness for people working for the government and nonprofit organizations and also called on the federal government to create jobs.

“The fastest way to do that is to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure,” he said.

From the podium, Sanders held up a copy of the national Democratic Party platform, telling his supporters that they gave him the political clout to push the platform to the left.

While much has been made of whether Sanders’ progressive backers would get behind Clinton in the general election, Chris McCarron of Denver seemed to have no qualms about voting for the Democratic nominee. McCarron, who wore a “Bernie for President” T-shirt, said he was happy that Sanders had been able to influence the party platform.

“He’s not fighting from the outside anymore,” he said.

Although he doesn’t live in the 6th Congressional District, McCarron said he is impressed with Carroll as well.

“I think she might be the future of the party,” he said.

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