Colorado House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese announced on Monday that she is stepping down amid ongoing Republican instability and a scandal involving former GOP Rep. Ryan Armagost.
With leadership turnover frequent in both chambers, the party faces renewed challenges at the Capitol.
Pugliese said she is leaving office to focus on her children.
“As a single mom, I raise my two children on my own. I am all that they have. There is nothing more important in my life than them,” she wrote to friends and supporters.
“They have made so many sacrifices for me to represent you. But they also need their mom, and I need to keep them safe.”
Her resignation followed a tense special session in which the Armagost scandal came to the forefront.
Armagost secretly photographed Democratic Rep. Yara Zokaie during a House proceeding and shared the image in a GOP group chat.
In the chat, colleagues compared her outfit to that of a stripper and a prostitute.
The photo later circulated on social media, prompting harassment and threats against Zokaie, according to the Washington Examiner.
Although Pugliese was included in the group chat, she did not participate in the commentary.
She eventually removed Armagost from his committee assignments months later, but critics accused her of shielding him.
She rejected the allegations, telling House Majority Leader Monica Duran on the floor, “I am not a liar,” before briefly leaving the chamber.
In her resignation letter, Pugliese described the political climate as “toxic” and said that “the lies and hypocrisies the majority spewed were beyond what I had ever expected.”
She also cited the recent assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as influencing her decision to step back from public life.
Turnover at the top has been a recurring issue for Colorado House Republicans.
Pugliese became minority leader in 2024 after Rep. Mike Lynch resigned following a prior drunk-driving arrest.
Lynch had succeeded Rep. Hugh McKean, who died unexpectedly in 2022.
This marks the fourth time in four years that Colorado House Republicans have had to select a new leader, The Denver Post notes.
Pugliese built her political career as a Mesa County commissioner before moving to Colorado Springs, where she was elected to the state House in 2022.
She won a second term in 2024 and quickly rose to lead her caucus. In her letter, she said she plans to return to Mesa County with her children.
Democratic leaders Speaker Julie McCluskie and Majority Leader Duran issued a joint statement thanking Pugliese for her service.
“We admire her dedication to her children, and we wish her all the best in her move to Mesa County and in the next chapter of her life,” they said, per The Colorado Sun.
A Republican vacancy committee will soon appoint her successor for House District 14 until the 2026 election.
Meanwhile, House Republicans must convene to select a new minority leader ahead of the legislature’s January session, testing the party’s ability to maintain cohesion amid ongoing leadership disruptions.
