Kevin Priola
Member of the Colorado Senate
from the 13th district
Assumed office
January 9, 2023
Preceded byRedistricted
Member of the Colorado Senate
from the 25th district
In office
January 11, 2017 – January 9, 2023
Preceded byMary Hodge
Succeeded byRedistricted
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives
In office
January 9, 2013 – January 11, 2017
Preceded byChristine Scanlan
Succeeded byPhilip Covarrubias
Constituency56th district
In office
January 14, 2009 – January 9, 2013
Preceded byMary Hodge
Succeeded byJenise May
Constituency30th District
Personal details
BornBrighton, Colorado, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic (2022–present)
Republican (1990–2022)
SpouseMichelle
Children4

Kevin Priola is an American politician who serves in the Colorado Senate from the 13th district as a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to decennial redistricting he also represented the 25th district. Prior to his tenure in the state senate he served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 30th and 56th districts from 2009 to 2017. Until 2022, he served as a member of the Republican Party.

Priola was born in Brighton, Colorado, and educated at the University of Colorado Boulder where he joined the College Republicans. He joined the Republican Party at age seventeen and was elected to the state house from the 30th district in the 2008 election. During his tenure in the state house he served as a whip, but resigned in 2014 following an unsuccessful attempt to remove him. He was elected to the state senate in the 2016 election. He switched parties to the Democratic Party on August 22, 2022, citing Republican attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election.[1]

Priola was redistricted into the 13th district.[2]

Early life

Kevin Priola was born in Brighton, Colorado. He attended the University of Colorado Boulder from 1992 to 1996, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and accounting and a minor in economics. He became a Republican at age seventeen and was a member of the College Republicans. He married Michelle, with whom he had four children.[3][4][5]

Career

Priola ran for the Republican nomination for a seat in the Colorado House of Representatives in the 30th district in the 2008 election and won in the general election against Democratic nominee Dave Rose.[6] He defeated Democratic nominee Laura Huerta in the 2010 election.[7] He defeated Democratic nominee Rose and Libertarian nominee Will Hiltscher in the 2012 election.[8][9] He defeated Democratic nominee Vicki A. Snider and Libertarian nominee Chris Baerns in the 2014 election.[10][11]

Priola ran for a seat in the Colorado Senate from the 25th district and defeated Democratic nominee Jenise May in the 2016 election.[12][13] He defeated Democratic nominee Paula Dickerson in the 2020 election.[14][15] He over-performed Donald Trump by over 10% in the 2020 election in his district.[16]

He served as a whip during his tenure in the state house, but resigned from his position in 2014, the day after Representative Chris Holbert unsuccessfully attempted to have him removed from the position due to Priola not supporting a Republican amendment to legislation.[17][18][19] During his tenure in the state senate he served on the Business, Labor and Technology, and Education committees.[4] He was considered as a possible running mate for Walker Stapleton in the 2018 gubernatorial election, but Lang Sias was selected instead.[20]

Political positions

Priola is considered a moderate in his district, and has worked with Democrats in sponsoring or supporting bipartisan bills.[21] He voted in favor of legislation to allow municipalities to require affordable housing which had been prohibited since a ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court in 2000.[22] He was the only Republican in the state senate to vote in favor of legislation to prevent landlords from using or disclosing the citizenship or immigration status of their tenants.[23]

He sponsored legislation to exempt teachers from the Colorado Open Records Act in order to prevent doxing being conducted against teachers.[24] Priola was the only Republican to vote in favor of legislation to prohibit employers from retaliating against their workers for reporting health and safety concerns or violations.[25]

He co-sponsored legislation to repeal the death penalty, and at one point was the only Republican supporter of the bill, stating that he opposes capital punishment due to his Catholic beliefs and how it disproportionately targets black people.[26][3] He voted in favor of reducing the sentence of felony murder from life in prison without parole to a maximum of forty-eight years.[27]

He and Senator Brittany Pettersen created legislation to allow for supervised injection sites to combat the opioid epidemic.[28] Patrick Neville, the Republican Minority Leader in the state house, threatened to have recall attempts made against Democratic members of the Colorado General Assembly who supported the legislation, but not against Priola.[29] Priola sponsored legislation to prohibit the selling or marketing of flavored products by cigarette, tobacco, or nicotine retailers.[30]

Priola sponsored legislation in 2014 that would prohibit abortions, except to prevent the death of the mother, and make it a class three felony.[31] He received an F rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America.[32]

He voted in favor of legislation to allow transgender and nonbinary people to change their names and gender on identifications without surgery or judicial requirements,[33] and voted in favor of legislation to prohibit gay conversion therapy.[34] He cosponsored legislation to make HIV prevention drugs available without the need of a prescription.[35] He has also supported anti-LGBT religious-exemption legislation.[36]

After the January 6 United States Capitol attack, he called for President Trump to be removed from office through either the Twenty-fifth Amendment or impeachment.[37] Priola was the only Republican to vote in favor of a resolution calling for the passage of voting rights legislation at the federal level while fifteen Republican members of the state senate voted in favor of unsuccessful amendments to the resolution thanking the Capitol attackers and decertifying the 2020 presidential election.[38][39]

On August 22, 2022, Priola announced he was leaving the Republican Party and joining the Democratic Party, citing Republicans' attempts to overturn the 2020 election and denial of climate change.[40][41] Priola's wife, Michelle, is a plaintiff on Anderson v. Griswold.[42]

Electoral history

2008 Colorado House of Representatives 30th district Republican primary[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kevin Priola 1,579 100.00%
Total votes 1,579 100.00%
2008 Colorado House of Representatives 30th district election[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kevin Priola 11,936 50.92%
Democratic Dave Rose 11,505 49.08%
Total votes 23,441 100.00%
2010 Colorado House of Representatives 30th district Republican primary[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kevin Priola (incumbent) 2,912 100.00%
Total votes 2,912 100.00%
2010 Colorado House of Representatives 30th district election[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kevin Priola (incumbent) 10,612 60.49%
Democratic Laura Huerta 6,931 39.51%
Total votes 17,543 100.00%
2012 Colorado House of Representatives 56th district Republican primary[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kevin Priola (incumbent) 4,064 100.00%
Total votes 4,064 100.00%
2012 Colorado House of Representatives 56th district election[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kevin Priola (incumbent) 22,270 58.78%
Democratic Dave Rose 14,070 37.14%
Libertarian Will Hiltscher 1,544 4.08%
Total votes 37,884 100.00%
2014 Colorado House of Representatives 56th district Republican primary[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kevin Priola (incumbent) 5,894 100.00%
Total votes 5,894 100.00%
2014 Colorado House of Representatives 56th district election[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kevin Priola (incumbent) 20,627 63.09%
Democratic Vicki A. Snider 10,629 32.51%
Libertarian Chris Baerns 1,439 4.40%
Total votes 32,695 100.00%
2016 Colorado Senate 25th district Republican primary[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kevin Priola 4,743 100.00%
Total votes 4,743 100.00%
2016 Colorado Senate 25th district election[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kevin Priola 30,074 52.07%
Democratic Jenise May 27,678 47.93%
Total votes 57,752 100.00%
2020 Colorado Senate 25th district Republican primary[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kevin Priola (incumbent) 11,135 100.00%
Total votes 11,135 100.00%
2020 Colorado Senate 25th district election[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kevin Priola (incumbent) 37,195 50.84%
Democratic Paula Dickerson 35,968 49.16%
Total votes 73,163 100.00%

References

  1. ↑ Associated Press (September 11, 2022). "GOP-led recall effort approved for state senator who joined Democrats last month". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  2. ↑ Evan Wyloge and Marianne Goodland (November 24, 2021). "With new state House and Senate maps, let the games begin". Colorado Politics. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Lone Republican Supporter of Death Penalty Repeal on Faith, Colleagues". Westword. March 11, 2019. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Kevin Priola". Colorado Republican Party. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Kevin Priola biography". Vote Smart. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 "Official Publication of the Abstract of Votes Cast for the 2008 Primary and 2008 General" (PDF). Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 "Official Publication of the Abstract of Votes Cast for the 2010 Primary and 2010 General" (PDF). Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 8, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  8. 1 2 "2012 Primary Election Results - Republican Party Ballot". Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  9. 1 2 "2012 General Election Results". Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  10. 1 2 "2014 Primary Election Results - Republican Party Ballot". Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  11. 1 2 "2014 General Election Results". Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  12. 1 2 "2016 Primary Election Results - Republican Party Ballot". Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  13. 1 2 "2016 General Election Results". Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  14. 1 2 "2020 Primary Election Results - Republican Party Ballot". Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  15. 1 2 "2020 General Election Results". Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  16. ↑ "What happened to the Colorado Republican Party?". The Denver Post. December 20, 2020. Archived from the original on February 2, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Changing of the guard House Republicans now the minority party at state legislature". Colorado Politics. November 15, 2012. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  18. ↑ "House GOP coup against Rep. Priola fails". Colorado Politics. April 13, 2014. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Priola bows to pressure, resigns House GOP leadership post". KDVR. April 14, 2014. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Stapleton picks Rep. Lang Sias as GOP running mate". Colorado Politics. July 11, 2018. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022.
  21. ↑ Birkeland, Bente. "In Adams County, Voters Went Big For Biden, But Also Hung On To Their Republican State Senator. Why?". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Colorado Legislature Removes Ban on Affordable-Housing Requirements". Westword. May 4, 2021. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Bill moving fast to curb Colorado landlords' questions about immigration status". Colorado Politics. June 11, 2020. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Colorado's growing anti-doxxing law could soon include teachers". The Denver Post. April 15, 2022. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Colorado legislature approves extending public health whistleblower protections after pandemic". The Gazette. May 3, 2022. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Death Penalty Repeal Bill Passes First Legislative Step". Westword. January 28, 2020. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Lee's felony murder bill wins state Senate approval". Colorado Politics. March 31, 2021. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022.
  28. ↑ "Statewide Supervised Use Site Bill Might Not Happen This Session". Westword. February 4, 2019. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021.
  29. ↑ "WATCH: GOP House leader Neville calls drug injection sites 'a horrendous idea,' threatens recalls". Colorado Politics. January 19, 2019. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022.
  30. ↑ "How Colorado's flavored nicotine ban debate raises questions about racial justice and where the state gets money". Colorado Public Radio. April 23, 2022. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Personhood bill has chilling effect even with no chance of passing, advocate says". Westword. January 17, 2014. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022.
  32. ↑ "Kevin Priola". NARAL Pro-Choice America. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021.
  33. ↑ "Jude's Law takes effect, helping transgender, non-binary Coloradans amend birth certificates". Colorado Politics. January 1, 2020. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022.
  34. ↑ "Conservative Utah looks to ban conversion therapy, following Colorado". Colorado Politics. November 27, 2019. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022.
  35. ↑ "Senate approves bills making HIV prevention prescription-free". Colorado Politics. June 7, 2020. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022.
  36. ↑ "Republicans Are Still at It With Anti-LGBTQ Bills That Have No Chance of Passing". Westword. April 25, 2018. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021.
  37. ↑ "Republican state Sen. Kevin Priola calls for Trump's removal from office". Colorado Politics. January 8, 2021. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022.
  38. ↑ "Why Democrats think the 2020 election debate is a political win". Axios. January 19, 2022. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  39. ↑ "Majority of Colorado House Republicans vote for supporting Jan. 6 crowd, election conspiracy theories". KMGH-TV. January 18, 2022. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  40. ↑ @KevinPriola (August 22, 2022). "#coleg #copolitics #Elections2022 #democracy #Republican #DemocratsDeliver #colorado" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  41. ↑ Hindi, Saja (August 22, 2022). "Colorado GOP Sen. Kevin Priola switches party affiliation to Democrat, citing election conspiracies and climate denialism". The Denver Post. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  42. ↑ Paul, Jesse; Fish, Sandra (September 6, 2023). "Lawsuit seeks to block Trump from appearing on Colorado's 2024 ballot". Colorado Sun. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
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