A Colorado Republican senator wrote a letter informing voters he will be changing his party registration to Democrat.
Kevin Priola, in a tweet posted by him to his personal Twitter account, announced Monday that he will switch political parties, from a Republican party to a Democrat.
After four terms as a Republican serving in the Colorado House of Representatives and two terms in Senate, this change is effective immediately. Priola claims that the Jan. 6 attack, as well as the subsequent actions (or lack thereof) by former members of his party, initiated this switch.
“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,”Priola wrote.
He also said that the Republican party’s attitude towards climate change was another reason he felt the need of switching.
“The Republican party I joined decades ago created national parks, preserved federal lands, and protected wildlife,”Priola. “Today my Republican colleagues would rather deny the existence of human-created climate change than take action.”
He stated that he supports his political affiliation change but stressed that his stance on abortion, school choice and gun laws remains the same.
“To be clear, I will not be changing the way I vote on legislation. I just will now cast my votes with a D next to my name instead of an R,”Priola.
Priola was able to recognize that his position differs from those of the other Democrats, but he still feels it. “there is too much at stake right now for Republicans to be in charge.”
Former Democratic member of Congress and current governor of Colorado Jared Polis welcomes the change, saying “Proud to welcome @KevinPriola to the Democratic Party. We are a broad tent party, always seeking good ideas from the left and right to move CO forward. Senator Priola is a strong leader on climate issues & will hopefully be even more effective on the Democratic side of the aisle,”In a recent Tweet.
Priola was also welcomed into the party by a Colorado House Democrat. Colorado Senate President Steve Fenberg Write, “Though we don’t see eye to eye on every issue, the Senate Democrats are excited to embrace Senator Priola’s leadership and diversity of thought into our caucus.”
Senator Fenberg has the following words to say about these issues: “just as Senator Priola’s views haven’t changed, our caucus’s principles haven’t either. Senate Democrats, with the leadership of Senator Gonzales’s Reproductive Health Equity Act, secured and protected a woman’s right to reproductive health care this year. We will continue to fight to ensure that a woman’s right to choose is uninhibited in Colorado.”
With Priola’s party switch, Democrats now hold a 21-14 majority over Republicans in the Colorado Senate, making it even more difficult for the GOP to regain control of the state’s Capitol in the upcoming election, According to HuffPost.