DENVER — Republicans on Wednesday launched a campaign to recall Colorado state Sen. Kevin Priola from office, two days after the Henderson lawmaker changed his registration from Republican to Democrat.
Organizers filed paperwork with the Colorado Secretary of State's Office to initiate the recall and formed a committee to fund the campaign, the head of a GOP-aligned nonprofit said in a release.
"Recalling Kevin Priola would be good for SD 13 and good for the State of Colorado," said Michael Fields, a senior advisor with Advance Colorado Action and the registered agent for the recall committee, in a statement citing Priola's legislation record over the past four years, including support for raising the gas tax to fund transportation and co-sponsoring a bill to establish so-called "safe injection" sites for intravenous drug users.
The term-limited Priola, who served four terms in the state House and is in the middle of his second and final Senate term, said on Monday that he decided to leave the GOP over his former party's stance on attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and what he described as Republicans' refusal to take action on climate change.
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