Colorado lawmaker exits GOP, switches to Democratic Party, citing Jan. 6 attack and Trump

A state senator in Colorado is resigning from the Republican Occasion and changing into a Democrat, citing the occasion’s complicity within the Jan. 6 rebellion and 2020 election denial as the explanation.

• “I can not proceed to be part of a political occasion that’s okay with a violent try to overturn a free and truthful election and continues to hawk claims that the 2020 election was stolen,” Sen. Kevin Priola stated in an announcement.

• He additionally cited his occasion’s lack of motion on local weather change, saying his GOP colleagues “persistently and proudly search to impede progress … and I am unable to, in good conscience, be silent about that.”

Why it issues: The announcement represents a stark rebuke of former President Trump and the nationwide Republican Occasion.

• It additionally deflates the GOP’s hopes of retaking the Democratic-controlled Colorado Senate, one of the focused legislative battles within the nation. Democrats now maintain a 20-15 benefit, making a flip much less doubtless.
• Priola went out of his solution to advocate towards his occasion within the 2022 midterms, saying: “Democrats in cost as a result of our planet and democracy depend upon it.”

Between the strains: Priola is a political reasonable, usually siding with Democrats on main laws because the chamber’s most bipartisan member.

Sure, however: He nonetheless votes with Republicans 90% of the time, and stated he “won’t be altering the way in which I vote on laws.”

• Priola has beforehand voted towards abortion rights and efforts to manage weapons. 

Context: The Henderson lawmaker gained re-election in 2020 in a decent battle by which he was focused by Democrats. He’s term-limited in 2025.

• Earlier this 12 months, he led an effort to strengthen election safety in Colorado.

What they’re saying: Democratic Gov. Jared Polis issued a statement welcoming Priola to the occasion.

• “We’re a broad tent occasion, all the time in search of good concepts from the left and proper to maneuver [Colorado] ahead,” he stated. “Senator Priola is a powerful chief on local weather points and can hopefully be much more efficient on the Democratic aspect of the aisle.

The opposite aspect: Sean Paige, a former spokesperson for the state Senate GOP caucus, said Priola’s swap isn’t a surprise. “He is past only a massive phony; he is a squirrely and calculating opportunist. However I am glad, for his conscience, that he lastly got here out of the closet,” Paige stated.

• A distinguished Republican activist said voters ought to recall Priola after the swap.