The Colorado State Senate is the upper house of the Colorado General Assembly,the state legislature of the US state of Colorado. It is composed of 35 members elected from single-member districts,with each district having a population of about 123,000 as of the 2000 census. Senators are elected to four-year terms,and are limited to two consecutive terms in office. Senators who are term-limited become eligible to run again after a one-term respite.
Joan Fitz-Gerald is an American politician and attorney who served as a member of the Colorado Senate,representing the 16th district from 2001 until 2007. She also served as President of the Senate,the first woman to hold that office.
Dudley W. Brown is an American gun rights lobbyist. He is the founder and president of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and president of the National Association for Gun Rights.
John P. Morse is an American former politician who was a state senator in the Colorado Senate from 2007 to 2013,serving as president of the senate in 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Morse represented Senate District 11,which encompassed at the time Manitou Springs,Colorado,and eastern Colorado Springs. On April 17,2009,he was selected to become Colorado's next Senate Majority Leader,following the resignation of Senate President Peter Groff and the promotion of previous Majority Leader Brandon Shaffer. On September 10,2013,Morse was recalled from office as a reaction to his involvement in passing gun control laws. He was the first legislator to be successfully recalled in the state's history.
Claire Levy is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Democrat in 2006,Levy represented House District 13,which encompasses Clear Creek,Gilpin,and western Boulder counties. Levy was named the Executive Director of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy on November 1,2013. The Colorado Center on Law and Policy is a Denver-based nonprofit organization working to advance the health,economic security and well-being of low-income Coloradans through research,education,advocacy and litigation.
Cherylin Naylor Peniston is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. A career public school teacher,Peniston was first elected as a Democrat in 2006 to the Colorado House of Representatives. She represented House District 35,which encompasses most of Westminster,Colorado and portions of Arvada. Term limited,she did not seek re-election in 2014.
Sara Elizabeth Gagliardi was a legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. A career nurse,Gagliardi was first elected as a Democrat in 2006 to the Colorado House of Representatives. She represented House District 27,which encompasses most of Arvada,Colorado,until her defeat in the 2010 election by Republican Libby Szabo. During her time with the House of Representatives,Gagliardi served as vice-chair for two legislative committees and successfully carried 22 bills into law,predominantly on health care,state services and education,and state fiscal issues. Following the recall attempt and subsequent resignation of Senator Evie Hudak in November 2013,Gagliardi announced her intention to be appointed to the office by the Democratic vacancy committee. The committee ultimately appointed Rachel Zenzinger.
Mike Kopp is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as a member of the Colorado Senate,representing Senate District 22,which encompassed southern Jefferson County. He served from 2007 and as Senate Minority Leader from 2009 until his resignation in October 2011 after his wife died from cancer. He was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of Colorado in 2014.
Dianne I. Primavera is an American politician who has been the 50th lieutenant governor of Colorado since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party,she previously served as the Colorado State Representative for the 33rd district from 2007 to 2011,and again from 2013 to 2017. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jared Polis selected Primavera as his running mate,in the 2018 Colorado gubernatorial election.
Robert S. Gardner is a legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. A United States Air Force veteran and attorney,Gardner was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Republican in 2006. From 2006 to 2012,he represented House District 21,which encompasses western El Paso County and northeastern Fremont County.
Gail Sheridan Schwartz is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado State Senate as a Democrat in 2006,Schwartz represented Senate District 5,which covers a large section of south-central Colorado,ranging from Aspen,and Delta,Colorado through the San Luis Valley to the New Mexico border. Schwartz left office in 2015 after serving two terms and unsuccessfully ran for the United States House of Representatives in Colorado's 3rd congressional district.
Evie Hudak is an American politician who served in the Colorado Senate from the 19th district as a member of the Democratic Party from 2009 to 2013. Prior to her tenure in the state senate she served on the Colorado State Board of Education from the 2nd congressional district from 2001 to 2009.
Mark Scheffel is an American politician and a former Majority Leader of the Colorado Senate. First elected to the Colorado State Senate as a Republican in 2008,Scheffel represented Senate District 4 in Douglas County,which encompasses Castle Rock,Larkspur,Parker,Franktown,and Castle Pines. Term limited,he did not run for re-election in the 2016 elections,so his term ended in January,2017.
Rocky Mountain Gun Owners (RMGO) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit gun rights advocacy group in Colorado,United States.
Joann Ginal is an American politician who serves in the Colorado Senate from the 14th district since 2019,as a member of the Democratic Party. Before her tenure in the state senate she served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 52nd district from 2013 to 2019.
The Colorado recall election of 2013 was a successful effort to recall two Democratic members of the Colorado Senate following their support of new gun control legislation. Initially four politicians were targeted,but sufficient signatures could only be obtained for State Senate President John Morse and State Senator Angela Giron.
Tracy Kraft-Tharp is an American teacher and politician who serves on the county commission in Jefferson County,Colorado. Prior to her tenure on the county commission she served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 29th district from 2013 to 2021,as a member of the Democratic Party.
Laura J. Woods was a state senator in the U.S. State of Colorado. She represented Senate District 19,which encompasses most of the City of Arvada,and the northwest section of the City of Westminster in Jefferson County. She served on the Senate Appropriations,Business,Labor &Technology and Education committees.
Colorado's 19th Senate district is one of 35 districts in the Colorado Senate. It has been represented by Democrat Rachel Zenzinger since 2017,following her defeat of incumbent Republican Laura Woods.
The 2014 Colorado Senate elections were held on November 4,2014 to elect 18 of the 35 members of the Colorado Senate. The election coincided with Colorado House of Representatives elections and other state and federal elections. Primary elections were held on June 24,2014. Republicans gained control of the chamber for the first time since 2005,gaining one seat.
