Former secretary of state and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spoke to a packed house at Rutgers University Thursday afternoon.

The conversation was organized by the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. Clinton spoke about a variety of topics, including Russia, the National Rifle Association and the upcoming midterm elections.

Event organizers say that the event sold out within a half-hour. Over 5,000 people packed into the Rutgers Athletic Center to hear Clinton speak.

Clinton told the crowd that the Republican Party is being held captive by a small group of powerful forces, including the NRA. She also called for the creation of a national commission to look into exactly how Russia affected the 2016 election.

“What the Russians will do is try to employ hackers so then they will be able to say ‘We didn't do it,’ but it's all part of the same plot,” Clinton said. “I mention that because we need a national commission to look into what actually really did happen and what could happen in order to protect our elections.”

She says that she believes Democrats have a chance to regain seats in the 2018 elections.

“For enough Americans, the prospect of an unpredictable reality TV campaign was too good to turn off,” she said. “But now we’ve seen it for more than a year. And I think many Americans are beginning to ask questions about what to expect and how this is going to turn out.”

Clinton also talked about the need for women in politics and how she sees sexism playing a role against potential women presidential candidates.

Rutgers officials said that Clinton was paid a $25,000 speaking fee that came from an endowment.