Many of Colorado’s top Democratic politicians led the Women’s March on Denver Saturday – a march that drew a crowd so massive and spread-out that Denver police refused to try to guess its size.

Organizers put the number at 200,000 of receptive potential voters to oust Republicans in President Donald Trump’s mid-term election in 2018 and potentially take down the incumbent Republican in the White House in 2020.

“What we’ve seen is a lot of people who are extremely worried about us going backward,” said former state Sen. Morgan Carroll of Aurora, who is vying for state Democratic Party chair. “A lot of us here have been fighting for a lot of rights for basic quality and respect for decades.”

She said some of the marchers were concerned about Trump’s remarks about “grabbing” women, but also about the possibility he could de-fund Planned Parenthood and take other steps Democrats view as adverse to women.

“I can’t think of anything that would set us back farther or faster than what he’s looking at doing,” Carroll said. “As they race to erode our rights at the federal level, we need to strengthen them at the city and the state level.”

Reps. Leslie Herod of Denver and Jessie Danielson of Wheat Ridge said they would push bills in the legislature on such issues and equal pay, despite a Republican majority in the state Senate that could again vote them down.

Herod said next week she would introduce a resolution in the Democrat-led House to reaffirm the state’s commitment to abortion rights, contraception and related healthcare.

“We are really going to push forward on proactive pieces of legislation to protect women.” she said. “We also are going to push back on those five pieces of Republican bills that already have been introduced that would roll back choice.”

Danielson said she would continue to push for pay parity because federal laws aren’t doing the job well enough.

“I know the public is behind this effort and it’s time for us to work hard to achieve equal pay in the workplace,” she said. “I’m confident there will be a renewed commitment from both sides of the aisle to work hard for the people we represent, and I have a renewed optimism an equal pay measure will get through this time.”

Rep. Joe Salazar of Thornton, a civil rights attorney who is the most reliable fighter for those causes in the Capitol, said standing up for rights is what makes America great.

“The thing about America is that when we operate at full efficiency, when everyone is treated with dignity, with respect, when there’s equity we can pinpoint in the work environment, then that’s when America is at its strongest,” he said.

“Right here with all these people, this is the strength of America.”

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock was at the head of the march.

“One of the hardest things after the election was how do I explain to my daughters how the things that were said and done can help elect someone to the highest office in the land,” he said. “I’m here today because I want to make a strong statement that we all have a responsibility to demonstrate to our daughters, our sisters, our mothers that we stand with them, we respect them, we love them and we’re going to do everything we can to protect them.”

Jessica Rogers, one of the organizers of the Denver march, said work on it began soon after the election in November.

“We wanted people to have a place not to vent frustration but to find support and to find unity,” she said. “We’ve been really adamant about this not being a protest but being a statement of vigilance of rights. We wanted people to feel empowered.”

Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet of Commerce City said the day wasn’t just about equal rights for women, but equal rights for all.”We say women’s rights are human rights,” she said. “It is not just about the women in our community”