A Colorado state senator is a member of the Republican Party no longer, announcing that he will be affiliated with the Democratic Party moving forward.
Kevin Priola wrote in an open letter posted on his Twitter account that he became a Republican in 1990 because he believed in the original ideals of the party. However, while he believes he hasn’t changed in 30 years, he said the GOP has.
He said he watched the Jan. 6 insurrection “with horror” and hoped it would prove to be the last straw between the GOP and former President Donald Trump.
“Week after week and month after month, I waited for that response,” Priola wrote. “It never came.”
Priola commended “honorable Republicans” such as former Vice President Mike Pence, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) for defending the Constitution and condemned the Republicans who hurled “ridicule and threats” at them for doing so.
He also said he is disappointed with state Republicans and the GOP as a whole for their lack of response to climate change and the state of the environment.
It is “immoral” to saddle the next generation of Coloradans with the burden of fighting the climate crisis, he wrote.
“My Republican colleagues consistently, and proudly, seek to implode progress on any reasonable climate measures the legislature has undertaken — and I can’t, in good conscience, be silent about that,” Priola wrote.
Priola, a traditionally independent senator, said he believes the party system has become too much of a “litmus test” and emphasized that his positions on abortion, school choice, and gun rights vary from most Democrats.
However, GOP Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown tweeted that Priola finally made the move to “the party he’s consistently voted with” and that he repeatedly lied to his constituents.
“It’s clear Priola has selfishly chosen to make himself the story at the expense of Coloradans he was elected to fight for,” Burton Brown tweeted. “He will regret this decision when he is in the minority come January 2023.”
Kevin Priola finally made the move to the party he’s consistently voted with. After lying to his constituents, routinely voting for tax increases, & hurting the working families of his district, he’s now admitted his true affiliation: a pro tax-increase Democrat (1/2) #copolitics
— Kristi Burton Brown (@ColoradoKbb) August 22, 2022
Currently, the Democrats hold the majority in the Colorado state senate, occupying 20 of the 35 states prior to Priola’s move.
Democratic state Sen. Steve Fenberg, currently serving as president of the Senate, released a statement applauding Priola’s decision and countering Burton Brown’s, stating that Priola is choosing his constituents and Colorado’s future over partisan politics.
“Senator Priola has made it clear that the people of Colorado deserve leaders who will boldly take action against the most serious threats facing our country today,” Fenberg wrote. “It is unfortunate that the Colorado Republicans have become so extreme that moderate voices are not welcome.”
Priola is not up for reelection this cycle. Acknowledging the impending November 2022 midterm elections in his letter, he said it is important for voters to bring Democratic leaders into power to preserve democracy.
“It continues to be the honor of a lifetime to serve my constituents, and I will continue to fight, first and foremost, for their best interests,” he wrote. “I believe my decision to align with truth over conspiracy is indicative of that commitment.”
