Showdown in Colorado.

• Author: Winter, Mary
• Position: TRENDS & TRANSITIONS

The September recall of two Democratic legislators in Colorado--Senate President John Morse and Senator Angela Giron--rocked Democratic Party leaders and re-energized gun rights activists nationwide. Both lawmakers supported stronger gun laws, and both are the first legislators ever to be recalled in the state.

Many observers credit the upset to grassroots activism led by a 28-year-old Republican, Victor Head, his brother and a colleague, all three in the plumbing business in Pueblo, a city of roughly 107,000. Their efforts, in part, rallied 52,540 voters, or 1 percent of the state's population, to oust the lawmakers. Colorado Republican Party Chairman Ryan Call told a newspaper he was surprised by the results, but thrilled that voters had stood up to "out of touch" lawmakers. The Colorado GOP is "energized, organized and ready to fight and win in 2014," Call said.

The Colorado election reflects Americans' increasingly polarized positions on guns as the number of mass shootings climbs. Since the Newtown, Conn., school shooting last December, nine states have tightened gun restrictions, while more than two dozen states have increased the rights of gun owners.

The new laws in Colorado expand background checks on gun sales and limit ammunition magazines to 15 rounds. Colorado was once solidly Republican, but an influx of Democrats in recent years has turned the state into a partisan battleground. Following the recall, Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus promised that "Republicans are going to compete for every vote in Colorado, and tonight is only the beginning of our path to victory in 2014."

Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Rick Palacio characterizes the recalls as "mostly symbolic wins" for the GOP. Democrats still maintain their majority in the Colorado Statehouse, Palacio says, and the stricter gun laws remain on the books. "I don't think this is an omen of things to come, but rather a snapshot in time, much like a poll," he adds.

Morse, who would have been term-limited out after the 2014 session, lost by a slim 343-vote margin in his Colorado Springs district, where voters are roughly 34 percent Democrat, 26 percent Republican and 40 percent unaffiliated or something else. In Pueblo, where Democrats account for 45 percent of voters, Giron's defeat--by 12 percentage points--was more unexpected and demoralizing. Republican George Rivera won Giron's seat, and Republican Bernie Herpin will succeed Morse.

The relatively small...