FORT COLLINS — Sen. Bernie Sanders’ event at Colorado State University Sunday gave supporters a chance to rally around the Democratic presidential candidate before going to bat for him on Super Tuesday.

Many who turned out for the rally will vote in Colorado’s caucus for the first time in hopes that Sanders will secure a bid for the presidential nomination.

“I feel like this is a rare opportunity to support a rare candidate,” said Sanders supporter Lindsay Gray of Fort Collins, who will make her caucus debut Tuesday.

The Vermont senator used the campaign event as an opportunity to urge young voters to become politically involved.

“Colorado can play an important role in leading this country forward in a political revolution,” he said. “Everybody in this room knows that real change never occurs from the top on down. It always happens from the bottom on up.”

Much of Sanders’ speech was directed toward young voters. He touched on topics like inequality, unemployment and student debt.

He underscored his his plan to make public colleges and universities tuition-free, telling the crowd that anyone who’s qualified for a degree should be able to pursue one.

“It is not a radical idea to say that every young person in this country who has the ability and desire and qualifications should be able to get a higher education regardless of the income of that family,” Sanders said.

“We should be encouraging our people to get all the education they need, not discouraging them,” he said.

The possibility of free tuition is what will CSU student Claire Calloway to the polls on Tuesday. She said affordable education shouldn’t be considered a privilege.

“It’s something we need,” Calloway said. “It shouldn’t be only for the wealthy.”

Sanders delivered a similar message about health care, addressing his strategy for implementing a single-payer healthcare system.

“We should join the rest of the industrialized world … in saying that healthcare should be available to all people,” he said.

Littleton resident Kit Gray said she’s been volunteering for the Sanders campaign by canvassing neighborhoods to support his position on this issue, though she didn’t register in time to vote in the caucus.

Gray said under the current system, she spends 70 percent of her income on medical expenses.

“I’m disabled from health issues,” Gray said. “It’s the single-payer system that takes off that burden. It’s important to have a candidate with my best interests in mind.”

Sanders’ messages about race and inequality resonated with Adhiraj Pathak, a CSU student from India. Pathak said he’s nervous about the possibility of a Republican taking over the White House.

“The Republican Party has been led by Trump, who is trying to ban all foreign people even though this country relies on people who are foreign,” he said. “(Sanders) is aware that minorities are as important as non-minorities.”

The rally drew more than 6,500 people and nearly filled CSU’s Moby Arena. Supporters began lining up at 7:30 a.m. for the main event, which kicked off at 7 p.m.

Sanders used the rally as a platform to regain momentum ahead of the Super Tuesday contests in 13 states and one territory.

He took a hit in the South Carolina primaries on Saturday, when Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton sailed to a commanding victory. She narrowly beat Sanders in both Iowa and Nevada while Sanders handily won the New Hampshire primary.

The candidate urged voters to make their voices heard, a message that was echoed by Westminster resident Beth Bevans, who will vote this week’s caucus for the first time.

She called upon young voters to turn out at the polls.

“My hope is millenials come out en mass and vote,” she said.