Rep. Joe Salazar, who calls himself one of the state’s leading progressive voices, announced Saturday he’s endorsing Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to be the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee. Salazar, D-Thornton, said he feels Sanders is the best choice for Colorado.
Last year, Salazar co-sponsored a bill with Rep. Jovan Melton, D-Aurora, to create a subcommittee in the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs to review the use of American Indian mascots at schools. In January, he introduced legislation to change the name of the Columbus Day state holiday to Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
“I think (Sanders) has a better vision, and he’s been talking about it the past 40 or 50 years,” Salazar said. “He’s not the politician who accepts campaign contributions from the wealthiest of America. I have a high degree of respect for Secretary (Hillary) Clinton, but I think Sanders best represents what is needed in Colorado.”
Salazar’s endorsement shows Sanders can appeal to Latinos, a coveted voting bloc in Colorado and across the country. The Associated Press reported Saturday that Latino voters are expected to be about 12 percent of the electorate in November. Both Sanders and Clinton are courting Latino voters. Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea, and actress America Ferrera met with a Latina coffee group Friday in Denver to discuss key issues for that community.
On Saturday, Clinton narrowly defeated Sanders in the Nevada caucuses. A large majority of blacks supported Clinton, an outcome that bodes well for her in the upcoming Southern primaries. But Latino voters were closely divided between the two.
Salazar said he was particularly excited about Sanders’ infrastructure plan that would help the state’s economy while fixing roads and his free public college tuition plan. “We have to dream big because America is built off big dreams,” he said. “I’m not hearing that from Secretary Clinton. What I hear from her is typically what I hear from the other side of the aisle: ‘You may have big dreams, but they’re not realistic.’ “
