Democratic caucusgoers in House District 41 packed Overland High School in Aurora Tuesday night to stand for their candidate. And to stand in line.

Organizers estimated before the caucus started that about 1,300 people would show up from the 40 precincts in House District 41. But Jeff Moser, the site manager at Overland, said the number of voters reached more than 1,500, just a couple hundred shy of Overland’s 2008’s record-breaking turnout.

And Moser said he believed the high turnout was due to the Bernie Sanders campaign getting out the vote. Sanders won in House District 41 with more than 800 votes to over 600 votes for Hillary Clinton in the nonbinding straw poll.

“There was a lot of first-time caucus goers. Both campaigns did a great job getting the vote out, but especially Sanders,” Moser said.

“It’s Black Friday at the caucus,” one caucus worker said over a loudspeaker. While the crowd packed into the high school like they were avid to grab $100 big screen TVs off shelves somewhere, their demeanor was much more civil.

“This is an incredible turnout. I’m excited to see this,” said state Rep. Jovan Melton, D-Aurora, who circulated around the caucus meeting with attendees. “It’s great to see so many people active and involved. I think it’s a wakeup call to Democrats with this election cycle. We want to make sure we have a strong candidate on the November ballot to face whoever it is the Republicans will pick, which it looks like it will be Trump, which even scares me.”

Melton pulled double duty Tuesday night, caucusing for Hillary Clinton and pressing the flesh with voters in his district ahead of his reelection bid in November. Although he supports Clinton, Melton said Sanders is likewise a very qualified candidate and added that he’d support the Vermont senator if he makes a comeback with national delegates in the coming weeks. He also suggested that Sanders could be a good running mate for Clinton.

“I believe Hillary has real solutions,” Melton said. “While there’s nothing that Bernie says that I don’t like, Hillary has a real plan to get it done. And being in the Legislature, I know the obstacles that she’s going to face dealing with a Congress that will more than likely still be a Republican House and, hopefully, a Democratic Senate. But I do like Bernie, and I’m excited to see that he’s in the race and energizing people. And, who knows, hopefully he’ll end up on a ticket (in November).”

Melton wasn’t the only Democratic lawmaker out in support of Clinton. State Sen. Nancy Todd, D-Aurora, also showed up to Overland to caucus for Clinton and connect with supporters ahead of her reelection bid.

“I’ll be sitting in, and I’ll be voting. I support Hillary,” Todd said. “I think it’s going to go well. It’s interesting to watch what’s happening with the trends in the electorate. We have two good candidates, and they’re both saying a lot of the same things. It’s just, the difference is that one has a lot more experience than the other.”

Many Sanders supporters were taking part in their first caucus Tuesday and pointed to enthusiasm generated by his campaign as the reason they stood in line to make their voices heard.

“I wanted to come here and show my support for Bernie. This is my first time at a caucus. The last election, I was in high school still,” said Ricardo Lopez. “I want Bernie to win, but if Hillary wins, I’ll support her.”

The caucus wasn’t just a first for Bernie supporters. Alaa Atwi and her mother, Afaf Atayag, were both attending their first caucus. Atwi just turned 18, and her mother just became a citizen this year after immigrating to the UnIted States from Libya 21 years ago. Both were supporting Clinton.

While Atayag said she backs Hillary because of the success former President Bill Clinton had while in office, Atwi said she was voting for Hillary in part because of what it would mean for women across the country.

“I came out because I wanted to see if I could make an impact on something. It was great. I thought there’d be a little more action, but it was cool,” she said. “I wanted to come and caucus because I think she’s really determined, and I think she’ll make a huge impact on us in the future. I really want her to win, and she is going to be the first female president, too, so I think that it will be really cool to show we as women are equal to men.” She added, “I’d be OK with Bernie. I just don’t want Donald Trump to win.”

– ramsey@coloradostatesman.com