Outnumbered but not outmatched: House Minority Leader Pugliese’s grassroots push

By / / Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice

At the Colorado Capitol, House Republicans are outnumbered two to one. But House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese is still swinging—and she’s not swinging blindly.

She’s drawing from somewhere real.

“My father started his life with 50 cents in his pocket and a dream to own his own restaurant.” Pugliese added, “Almost every day it feels like I’m back to having spare change and a big dream—only this time it’s at the legislature.”

The daughter of Italian immigrants, Pugliese was the first woman in her family to graduate from college. 

She now juggles two jobs, the House minority leadership and single parenthood—raising two children on her own, including a daughter with a rare genetic disorder.

“They’re the reason I fight so hard. I want to make sure they have a Colorado that, if they choose to stay here, they can afford to live here.”

That fight, for Pugliese, is personal. It’s also political. And it’s what she believes Republicans in the House are doing every day—fighting uphill, but standing their ground.

Holding the line with 22

Pugliese took over as Minority Leader after former Rep. Mike Lynch stepped down. From the start, she saw her primary job as unifying a fractured caucus and making sure every voice could be heard.

“We think of it as a family… we treat everybody with respect and their voices are heard.” Pugliese added, “Not that we agree all the time. We’re Republicans, and we all have our very strong opinions. But I think making sure that all the decisions were made by the caucus—even if we didn’t all agree—that everybody had a voice in the caucus.”

Her strength doesn’t come from policy alone. “Stopping every few minutes and praying for peace is really how I get through my days.”

A grassroots-led bill that’s shaking the party

One of the most controversial bills Pugliese has carried this session is House Bill 25-1315, which would require candidates who were appointed to their seats through a vacancy process to face a primary election the following November.

“This adds a November off-year election that was brought to me by the people who want to be able to vote on their representation.” Pugliese added, “Eighty thousand people had the opportunity to vote for me. Nine people voted for one of my colleagues. It’s just not right.”

Though the bill preserves existing party procedures—including the opt-out process for closed primaries and the exclusion of unaffiliated voters from vacancy committees—it’s drawn sharp criticism from inside her own party.

“People have been Signal chatting… but when I’ve asked for changes… nobody has come to me with anything.”

One amendment, she noted, came directly from constituent feedback. An earlier version expanded precinct committee person representation from two to four. After hearing concerns that it would be too difficult to implement, Pugliese reversed course.

“I did get feedback where people said, ‘I think that’s going to be too hard.’ So we brought it back down to two.”

She emphasized that the bill doesn’t change who controls the party process.

“Unaffiliateds still do not get to participate in the vacancy committee. I haven’t changed any of our Republican party processes. It’s all the same.” Pugliese added, “They can still opt out if they want to close the primary to unaffiliated. That process mirrors our current process.”

Second reading on the House floor—where debate can often reshape a bill’s trajectory—is scheduled for the afternoon on April 17.

Battles beyond the chamber

HB25-1315 isn’t the only major bill where Pugliese is pressing for change. HB25-1312 expands legal protections for transgender individuals, including how courts handle issues like deadnaming, misgendering and gender-affirming health care in custody – and discrimination cases. 

The bill has drawn national attention and sharp debate around parental rights, compelled speech and gender identity policy in schools.

“Hopefully 1312 will die in the Senate. There has been an outcry from parents all over the state.”

She’s also pushing back against Senate Bill 3, which advanced despite constitutional questions.

“We were denied [constitutional review] here at the state level. So we asked U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to help us to determine constitutionality.”

Another concern is a rumored immigration bill that she believes could put Colorado in direct conflict with federal law.

“On the one hand, Democrats talk about they’re afraid of losing federal funding. But at the same time, they openly think it’s okay to violate federal law… it could cause serious problems for us at the state.”

She also opposed the passage of HB25-1321 allocating $4 million to support Governor Jared Polis’s legal fight with the federal government.

“They just write a blank check to Governor Polis… not even the Attorney General’s office. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Affordability isn’t a talking point—it’s real

Underlying many of these policy debates is one concern Pugliese said she hears constantly: affordability. She believes the Capitol is disconnected from the realities voters face every day.

“I can’t imagine that they heard things that were so different from what I heard at the doors. It was, ‘I can’t afford to live in Colorado. I’m a senior. I’m living on a fixed income. … I cannot afford to live in Colorado.’”

Efforts to repeal the state’s bag fee and other regulatory mandates were rejected, even when they had bipartisan interest.

“The grocery bag fee doesn’t even go to the state… and still they killed the repeal in committee.”

“There are way more than five people in this state who do not want to pay the grocery bag fee. But they didn’t show up.”

It’s not the first time Pugliese has seen that kind of gap between public frustration and formal participation. She says this angst prompted her to sponsor HB25-1315.

The loneliest place in the Capitol

For Pugliese, the biggest gap isn’t always policy—it’s participation. “This is a lonely place. Even if it’s sending an email, that will be really important.”

Her message to readers is simple: don’t wait for someone else to speak up.

“We will continue to talk to the people and bring their solutions forward. Even the small victories are monumental in Colorado today.”