Colorado firearms group accuses Centennial’s Wist of voting like a “gungrabbing Democrat” in House

A conservative group that describes itself as “Colorado’s only nocompromise gun rights organization” is working to make sure a top Republican state representative loses his seat.

“We love election time,” Rocky Mountain Gun Owners posted on its Facebook page. “It’s when politicians are reminded that their votes have consequences.”

The group spent the weekend delivering flyers to voters in House District 37 that accused Rep. Cole Wist, RCentennial, of “voting like a gungrabbing Democrat” and urged people to vote against “Cole ‘The Mole’ Wist.”

The vote that started this campaign against the No. 2 House Republican came at the end of the 2018 legislative session. Wist cosponsored a bill that gave judges the authority to issue extreme risk protection orders — allowing law enforcement to remove firearms from people determined to be a significant risk to themselves or others.

The “red flag” bill passed the Colorado House, but it never made it to a vote in the Senate.

Republicans on the Senate’s State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee rejected the bill on a 32 partyline vote.

Wist, who defended the bill as a mental health proposal, called it “easily the toughest” issue he’s worked on as an elected official.

Rocky Mountain Gun Owners called it a “gun confiscation bill” and government overreach.

The group attacked Wist almost immediately after the bill became public.

Wist’s district, which covers parts of Aurora, Centennial and Englewood, has been reliably Republi can for years. Wist defeated his Democratic opponent by 10 points in 2016. However, voters in the 37th picked Hillary Clinton over President Donald Trump.

Wist’s Democratic challenger, Tom Sullivan, lost his son in the Aurora theater shooting and has the endorsement of groups including Everytown for Gun Safety and Newtown Action Alliance.

“RMGO is not a Republican organization. They’re free to help Democrats if they choose,” Republican State Chairman Jeff Hays said. “Everyone in this country has the right to be wrong.”