28 Facts About Kevin Priola

Kevin Priola is an American politician who served in the Colorado Senate from the 13th district as a member of the Democratic Party.

Kevin Priola joined the Republican Party at age seventeen and was elected to the state house from the 30th district in the 2008 election.

Kevin Priola was elected to the state senate in the 2016 election.

Kevin Priola switched parties to the Democratic Party on August 22,2022, citing Republican attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election.

Kevin Priola 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.

Kevin Priola became a Republican at age seventeen and was a member of the College Republicans.

Kevin Priola married Michelle, with whom he had four children.

Kevin 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.

Kevin Priola defeated Democratic nominee Laura Huerta in the 2010 election.

Kevin Priola defeated Democratic nominee Rose and Libertarian nominee Will Hiltscher in the 2012 election.

Kevin Priola defeated Democratic nominee Vicki A Snider and Libertarian nominee Chris Baerns in the 2014 election.

Kevin Priola ran for a seat in the Colorado Senate from the 25th district and defeated Democratic nominee Jenise May in the 2016 election.

Kevin Priola defeated Democratic nominee Paula Dickerson in the 2020 election.

Kevin Priola 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.

Kevin Priola was considered as a possible running mate for Walker Stapleton in the 2018 gubernatorial election, but Lang Sias was selected instead.

Kevin Priola is considered a moderate in his district, and has worked with Democrats in sponsoring or supporting bipartisan bills.

Kevin Priola 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.

Kevin Priola 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.

Kevin Priola sponsored legislation to exempt teachers from the Colorado Open Records Act in order to prevent doxing being conducted against teachers.

Kevin 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.

Kevin Priola 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.

Kevin Priola voted in favor of reducing the sentence of felony murder from life in prison without parole to a maximum of forty-eight years.

Kevin Priola sponsored legislation to prohibit the selling or marketing of flavored products by cigarette, tobacco, or nicotine retailers.

Kevin Priola sponsored legislation in 2014 that would prohibit abortions, except to prevent the death of the mother, and make it a class three felony.

Kevin Priola received an F rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Kevin Priola voted in favor of legislation to allow transgender and nonbinary people to change their names and gender on identifications without surgery or judicial requirements, and voted in favor of legislation to prohibit gay conversion therapy.

Kevin Priola cosponsored legislation to make HIV prevention drugs available without the need of a prescription.

Kevin 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.