Top Republican in Colorado House resigns, weeks after argument with Democratic counterpart

Rose Pugliese the top Republican in the Colorado House resigned from the legislature Monday three weeks after she publicly sparred with her Democratic counterpart over a photo taken of another lawmaker This was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make Pugliese of Colorado Springs wrote in a Sunday letter addressed to friends and supporters When you are called to system as I have been it is demanding to walk away at a time when so various things need attention The minority caucus leader was the second House Republican to resign in newest months Rep Ryan Armagost left in August expediting a planned resignation after Democratic lawmakers declared their plans to censure him for surreptitiously taking and sharing a photo of a Democratic colleague whose appearance was then ridiculed in a private Republican group chat Democrats also publicly accused Pugliese of concealing Armagost s role in taking and sharing the picture until it was announced by Colorado Community Radio in July Pugliese vehemently denied that allegation in August when lawmakers were back in the Capitol for a special session During consideration of a resolution to condemn Armagost s behavior Pugliese stated that she d informed House Majority Leader Monica Duran in April that Armagost had taken the photo Duran then took to the floor after Pugliese She advised the Republican that they could talk about your character or lack of character or honesty privately She stated the resolution was about Armagost s conduct Pugliese then turned around and walked off the floor She later returned to vote in favor of the resolution to reprimand Armagost In her resignation letter Pugliese called the House toxic and revealed that the lies and hypocrisies that Democrats spewed were beyond what I had ever expected Pugliese wrote that she intended to move back to Mesa County with her family An attorney she d earlier served as a county commissioner there and that elected position had served as her launch pad into politics She moved to Colorado Springs ahead of the electoral contest A sophomore legislator she was the third Republican minority leader in the House since Rep Hugh McKean died suddenly of a heart attack that year and his replacement Rep Mike Lynch lasted little more months before a previous drunk-driving arrest came to light and he stepped down from the role Related Articles We need Colorado s elected leaders to show up to these protests every chance they get Letters Gun-rights group sues to stop burdensome Colorado law requiring firearm training for multiple purchases Colorado lawmakers hit a familiar wall Big Tech s influence in effort to rewrite AI regulations Polis orders M in cuts sweeps cash accounts to help close budget gap Colorado s legislature has filled a third of budget gap by slashing tax breaks Here s what comes next Pugliese still a freshman at the time was then elected leader She presided over an at-times fractious caucus that was a superminority in the House for the first year of her leadership But Republicans then picked up three seats last November developing Democrats two-thirds supermajority The summer then brought the Armagost charges to light along with accusations including from another Republican that GOP Rep Ron Weinberg had acted inappropriately House Republicans will now have to gather to elect Pugliese s replacement A vacancy committee will also be seated in the coming weeks to select a new lawmaker to represent House District until the next general voting in November On Saturday a separate vacancy committee selected Scott Slaugh to replace Armagost in representing House District Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter The Spot