Kevin Priola recall, Colorado State Senate (2022)
| Sen. Kevin Priola recall |
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 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2022 Recalls in Colorado Colorado recall laws State legislative recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Kevin Priola, a member of the Democratic Party, from his elected position representing District 25 in the Colorado State Senate was launched on August 24, 2022.[1][2]
On October 10, 2022, District Judge Marie A. Moses issued a temporary injunction; halting any further action by the Colorado Secretary of State's office on the recall effort. Judge Moses wrote in her decision, "The Secretary’s approval of the Recall Petition allowed a shift in the recall right to constituents of a neighboring district whom Sen. Priola does not currently represent and will not represent until January 9, 2023." According to the order, recall petitions could no longer be circulated until Priola was sworn into Senate District 13 in January 2023.[3] Michael Fields, a senior advisor of Advance Colorado, the group that organized the recall, said he planned to appeal the decision.[4]
On October 18, 2022, the Colorado Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from the recall group, Advance Colorado.[5]
Proponents of the recall effort criticized Priola over his support of a gas tax and legislation that would provide safe injection sites for drug users.[6] On August 22, 2022, Priola switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat. Priola said in a statement, "I cannot continue to be a part of a political party that is okay with a violent attempt to overturn a free and fair election and continues to peddle claims that the 2020 election was stolen."[7] Priola's party switch was not mentioned as a reason for recall in the petition statement.[8]
Priola was elected in 2016 to state Senate District 25 with 52% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2020 with 51%. He was term-limited from seeking re-election in 2024.[1] During the 2020 redistricting cycle, Priola was redistricted into Senate District 13. Any signatures collected for the recall effort had to come from Priola's new district. If a recall election was required, it would have been held in Senate District 13.
Recall supporters
The recall petition was approved by the secretary of state's office on September 9, 2022.[2][9] Advance Colorado Action was the group leading the recall effort, and Louisa Andersen and Jeff Sloan were the official proponents of the recall. Michael Fields, a senior advisor of the group, said in a statement on the recall: "Recalling Kevin Priola would be good for SD 13 and good for the State of Colorado. His record at the Capitol has been terrible. He voted for higher fees and taxes, to take away our TABOR refund checks, for 'safe' injection sites, and to decriminalize fentanyl. Voters in SD 13 deserve to decide who they want to represent them. My guess is they’ll pick someone they can actually trust and who more closely reflects their views."[10] The petition listed the following reasons for recall:
| “ |
Kevin Priola should be recalled from the State Senate because his voting record is out-of-step with the people of this District. Specifically, he supported five bills that are harmful to working families or dangerous for our community.
Kevin Priola broke the trust of voters who elected him. He does not represent the views of this District and should be removed from office.[11] |
” |
| —Kevin Priola Recall Petition Language[9] | ||
Recall opponents
State Sen. Priola provided the following statement to be displayed on the recall petition:[9]
| “ |
Fellow Coloradans, Special interests with deep pockets filed this recall as personal and political retribution for my decision to put people over partisan politics, and I have confidence you will see through their deceptive tactics. • Ask yourself why these special interests are just now calling for my recall over votes I took over a year and a half ago, and in some cases four years ago. This is clearly not about my voting record. These hyper-partisan political insiders are wasting hundreds of thousands of your taxpayer money on a special election to punish me for serving you as an independent voice. Their descriptions of the votes I took are false and extremely misleading. I’m proud of my votes to:
They won’t tell you I’ve actually voted twice to lower your property taxes, securing over $1 billion in property tax relief for families and businesses. I’m proud to be one of the most bipartisan legislators in our state. I care deeply about finding solutions to the problems facing our community. No political party has a monopoly on the truth. I will continue to think critically about every policy that comes across my desk and truly represent you in the State Senate. Get the FACTS about special interests that fear the independence of my voice in the legislature at ColoradoOverParty.com[11] |
” |
Estimated cost
The Colorado Department of State estimated that if a recall election was held, it would have cost $199,079.95.[9]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Colorado
First, a recall petition must be filed with the office in which nomination petitions are filed for the office that is being recalled. Generally, this office is the Colorado Secretary of State. The petition must include a statement of no less than 200 words explaining the ground on which the official is to be recalled.
After the petition is approved by the secretary of state, circulation of the petition may begin. Petitioners have 60 days to gather the proper number of signatures. The number of valid signatures required to force a special recall election is 25% of the votes cast in the last election for the official being recalled. After the required number of signatures have been gathered, the petition is submitted to the office in which it was filed to be deemed sufficient. This entails verifying the signatures. Once the petition has been deemed sufficient, the office in which it was filed will deliver the petition along with a certificate of its sufficiency to the governor who will then set a date for the recall election.[12]
Election history
2020
See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Colorado State Senate District 25
Incumbent Kevin Priola defeated Paula Dickerson in the general election for Colorado State Senate District 25 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kevin Priola (R) | 50.8 | 37,195 |
| Paula Dickerson (D) | 49.2 | 35,968 | ||
| Total votes: 73,163 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 25
Paula Dickerson advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 25 on June 30, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Paula Dickerson | 100.0 | 15,477 | |
| Total votes: 15,477 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Christina Fuller (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 25
Incumbent Kevin Priola advanced from the Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 25 on June 30, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kevin Priola | 100.0 | 11,135 |
| Total votes: 11,135 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
- See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Colorado State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 28, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 4, 2016.[13] Incumbent Mary Hodge (D) did not seek re-election.
Kevin Priola defeated Jenise May in the Colorado State Senate District 25 general election.[14][15]
| Colorado State Senate, District 25 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Kevin Priola |
52.07% | 30,074 | |
| Democratic | Jenise May | 47.93% | 27,678 | |
| Total Votes | 57,752 | |||
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State | ||||
Jenise May ran unopposed in the Colorado State Senate District 25 Democratic primary.[16][17]
| Colorado State Senate, District 25 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Jenise May (unopposed) | |
Kevin Priola ran unopposed in the Colorado State Senate District 25 Republican primary.[16][17]
| Colorado State Senate, District 25 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Kevin Priola (unopposed) | |
Historical state legislative recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 155 recall efforts against 146 state lawmakers from 1913 to 2021. During that time, 39 recalls made the ballot and 22 state legislators were successfully recalled.[18]
Michigan led the way with 37 state legislative recall efforts from 1913 to 2021. Of those 37 recall efforts, three were successful. Wisconsin followed with 30 state legislative recall efforts. Six of those recalls were successful.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "Secretary of State’s Office Provides Cost Estimate, Signature Threshold to Proponents of Effort to Recall Senator Kevin Priola," August 29, 2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Colorado Sun, "Group trying to recall state Sen. Kevin Priola after he became a Democrat can begin collecting signatures," September 10, 2022
- ↑ The Gazette, "Recall of party-switching state senator halted by Denver judge," October 11, 2022
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Judge blocks Priola recall effort; organizers vow to appeal, press on," October 11, 2022
- ↑ Colorado Newsline, "Colorado Supreme Court denies appeal in state Sen. Kevin Priola recall" October 21, 2022
- ↑ Ark Valley Voice, "Republicans Launch Recall Bid of Priola," August 25, 2022
- ↑ Axios, "Colorado lawmaker leaves GOP citing Jan. 6 attack and Trump," August 22, 2022
- ↑ Colorado Politics, "GOP group launches bid to recall Priola after Colorado lawmaker becomes a Democrat," August 24, 2022
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Colorado Secretary of State, "Recall Statement of Grounds," accessed September 15, 2022
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Party-switching Sen. Kevin Priola faces recall petition bid by activists," August 24, 2022
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Recall Petitions," accessed September 2, 2022
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Elections & Voting," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "General election candidates," accessed August 16, 2016
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2016 General Election results," accessed December 14, 2016
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Candidate List," accessed May 3, 2016
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "June 28, 2016 Primary Election," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Recall of State Officials," accessed August 13, 2021
