Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Tom Sullivan recall, Colorado House of Representatives (2019)
| Colorado House of Representatives recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2019 Recalls in Colorado Colorado recall laws State legislative recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Tom Sullivan, a member of the Democratic Party, from his elected position representing District 37 in the Colorado House of Representatives was launched in May 2019. The recall petition was approved for circulation on May 13, 2019. Kristine Brown submitted the recall petition. Supporters had until July 12, 2019, to collect 10,035 signatures to force a recall election.
On June 11, 2019, recall supporter Kristine Brown announced in a Facebook post that she was ending the recall effort against Sullivan.[1] She said in the post, "While we are pulling the recall today to focus on other essential efforts, Sullivan does not get a free pass. 2020 is the year to oust him, with the support of voters who now know how extreme he is."[2]
According to recall supporters, the effort against Sullivan was launched due to his support or sponsorship of four specific bills, which included a gun bill and; an oil and gas regulation bill, as well as legislation related to the national popular vote and sex education. Sullivan was one of the primary sponsors of the gun legislation. His son was killed in the 2012 shootings at an Aurora movie theater. The bill was designed to temporarily remove guns from people who are deemed a threat to themselves or others. The oil and gas bill was designed to give local governments more control over regulating the industry and also mandated that the state emphasize safety over promoting oil and gas production. Both bills were signed by Gov. Jared Polis (D) in April 2019.[3]
To read more on the recall efforts against the Colorado governor and other state legislative members in 2019, click here.
Sullivan was elected to District 37 in the state House in 2018. He defeated incumbent Cole Wist (R) in the general election with 54% of the vote. Prior to the 2018 election, Wist had held the seat since 2016. Wist stated on May 14, 2019, that he would not support the recall effort against Sullivan. He said, "I was in denial. Until yesterday. Last year, state GOP leadership failed to speak up to defend me when RMGO [Rocky Mountain Gun Owners] carpet bombed my house district with negative flyers. Now, these same leaders pledge to work with RMGO to take out my successor in a recall. I do not support this effort."[4]
Recall supporters
The recall against Sullivan was filed by Kristine Brown, the state's Republican Party vice chair. Brown said on the recall effort, "Rep. Tom Sullivan needs to be recalled because, like the rest of the Democrats in the legislature this session, he did not represent the families of Colorado. Colorado moms were shut down again and again when they came to testify, and Rep. Sullivan continually voted against our families' interests. The Democrat overreach this session was simply too far."[5]
Recall opponents
After the recall was announced against Rep. Sullivan, he said: "Alex being murdered in the Aurora theater massacre was the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with. Threats from extremists like Rocky Mountain Gun Owners do not scare me, and they will certainly never stop me from protecting other families from that heartbreak. I won’t be bullied by the gun lobby and I will always keep my promises to my community and my constituents."[6]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Colorado
Supporters of the recall needed to collect 10,035 signatures by July 12, 2019, to force a recall election. On June 11, 2019, recall supporters announced that they were ending the recall effort against Sullivan.
Election history
2018
General election
General election for Colorado House of Representatives District 37
Tom Sullivan defeated incumbent Cole Wist in the general election for Colorado House of Representatives District 37 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tom Sullivan (D) | 54.0 | 21,686 |
 | Cole Wist (R) | 46.0 | 18,451 | |
| Total votes: 40,137 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
 = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 37
Tom Sullivan advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 37 on June 26, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tom Sullivan | 100.0 | 7,624 |
| Total votes: 7,624 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 37
Incumbent Cole Wist advanced from the Republican primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 37 on June 26, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Cole Wist | 100.0 | 6,729 |
| Total votes: 6,729 | |||
| = 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
Elections for the Colorado House of Representatives 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.
Incumbent Cole Wist defeated Carol Barrett in the Colorado House of Representatives District 37 general election.[7][8]
| Colorado House of Representatives, District 37 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Cole Wist Incumbent |
54.65% | 23,518 | |
| Democratic | Carol Barrett | 45.35% | 19,516 | |
| Total Votes | 43,034 | |||
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State | ||||
Carol Barrett ran unopposed in the Colorado House of Representatives District 37 Democratic primary.[9][10]
| Colorado House of Representatives, District 37 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Carol Barrett (unopposed) | |
Incumbent Cole Wist ran unopposed in the Colorado House of Representatives District 37 Republican primary.[9][10]
| Colorado House of Representatives, District 37 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Cole Wist Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Colorado House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 24, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 31, 2014. Nancy Cronk was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Jack Tate defeated Michael Fields in the Republican primary. Tate defeated Cronk in the general election.[11][12][13][14]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jack Tate |
58% | 19,104 | |
| Democratic | Nancy Cronk | 42% | 13,834 | |
| Total Votes | 32,938 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Jack Tate |
65.7% | 4,377 |
| Michael Fields | 34.3% | 2,285 |
| Total Votes | 6,662 | |
Colorado state legislative and state executive recalls in 2019
The table below highlighted each recall effort in Colorado targeting state executive and state legislative members in 2019.
| 2019 Colorado state legislative and state executive recalls | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Office | Party | Status | Signature deadline | Reached the ballot | Recalled |
| Jared Polis | Governor | Democratic | Official; ended | September 6, 2019 |  |
- |
| Pete Lee | Senate District 11 | Democratic | Official; ended | September 10, 2019 | |
- |
| Brittany Pettersen | Senate District 22 | Democratic | Official; ended | September 16, 2019 | |
- |
| Leroy Garcia | Senate District 3 | Democratic | Official; ended | October 18, 2019 | |
- |
| Rochelle Galindo | House District 50 | Democratic | Official; ended | June 3, 2019 | |
- |
| Tom Sullivan | House District 37 | Democratic | Official; ended | July 12, 2019 | |
- |
| Bri Buentello | House District 47 | Democratic | Unofficial; ended | - | |
- |
| Jeff Bridges | Senate District 26 | Democratic | Unofficial; ended | - | |
- |
| Meg Froelich | House District 3 | Democratic | Unofficial; ended | - | |
- |
Historical state legislative recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 124 recall efforts against 120 state lawmakers from 1913 to 2018. During that time, 39 recalls made the ballot and 22 state legislators were successfully recalled.[15]
Michigan led the way with 35 state legislative recall efforts from 1913 to 2018. Of those 35 recall efforts, three were successful. Wisconsin followed with 30 state legislative recall efforts. Six of those recalls were successful.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Colorado Politics, "Recall effort against Rep. Tom Sullivan ends," June 11, 2019
- ↑ Westword, "Gun-Rights Activists End Campaign to Recall Tom Sullivan," June 11, 2019
- ↑ Colorado Politics, "Petitions OK'd to recall Tom Sullivan, Colorado lawmaker who backed 'red flag' gun bill," May 13, 2019
- ↑ Denver Post, "GOP lawmaker ousted by Rep. Tom Sullivan won’t back recall effort," May 14, 2019
- ↑ Colorado Public Radio, "Colorado GOP Vice-Chair Initiates Recall Against Rep. Tom Sullivan, Who Sponsored 'Red Flag' Gun Law," May 13, 2019
- ↑ Denver Post, "Recall of state Rep. Tom Sullivan, sponsor of Colorado’s red-flag gun-control legislation, moves forward," May 13, 2019
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "General election candidates," accessed August 16, 2016
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2016 General Election results," accessed December 14, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Candidate List," accessed May 3, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "June 28, 2016 Primary Election," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official primary candidate list," accessed May 1, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed June 25, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official general election candidate list," accessed July 23, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed December 5, 2014
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Recall of State Officials," accessed August 13, 2021
