At center court at East High School, Aaron Goldhamer wore a retro T-shirt that stated “Carter/Mondale,” as he rallied dozens of caucus-going Democrats around their mission Saturday afternoon.

Job one, Democrats told Colorado Politics, is to unseat Donald Trump from the White House.

Job two is to send the Republican incumbent U.S. senator from Colorado, Cory Gardner, with him.

“You’re committed to our democracy, which is under attack” he told those at the party caucus for a quarter of the precincts in the city. “It’s time to do something about it.”

They met by precinct in classrooms to pick delegates to the county and state assemblies, as well as to talk about party platform issues such as climate change, reproductive rights, social justice, education, workers rights and international affairs. 

Steering the state to the left, however, could depend on the strength of the party in Denver, the most heavily and reliably liberal region of the state.

“If we can’t win Denver, we can’t win anywhere,” said caucus-goer Gary Johnson. “I’m positive we can win Denver, and I’m pretty sure we can win Colorado.”

He went on to prognosticate: “This is going to be a great year for Democrats. If it’s not, we might not have a country left after four more years of Trump, or not one we still recognize.”

The nice weather outside – caucus-goers were greeted by the whoops and cheers of a youth soccer game across the street with temperatures in the 60s – and the worry over coronavirus limited the turnout Saturday at East High to a few dozen.

Instead of shaking hands, Democrats hugged or lifted their feet to touch shoes, then joked about not spreading any illnesses that way.

The Democrats outnumbered Republicans in the same venue that morning many times over, however, but partly because of the competitive U.S. Senate race.

The ground was notably adorned in T-shirts backing Andrew Romanoff, while at least one representative outside sought to enlist delegates for former Gov. John Hickenlooper in the race. Boulder County scientist Trish Zornio had a noticeable contingent of supporters as well, with a table laden with stickers and reading material to support her candidacy.

“I want them all to win but not as much as I want Trump and Gardner to lose,” said Ellen Thomas, who called herself an “aspiring Democrat” when asked who she would support in the race.

Mary Brice was one of three site coordinators for Democrats at East High Saturday. She suggested those who caucus are often who usually care most, and a decent turnout on such a pleasant day under threat of a pandemic showed the passion among the party’s base.

“This is the ground level of their party,” she said. “This is where they come and take ownership, and they do that with their neighbors. It’s a different process than an election.

“An election is sort of sterile. You mark a name and send it in. This is more community. You come out and talk to neighbors and you decide together who you’re going to support.”