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Mr. Wist later left the Republican Party and is now an independent.

Cole Wist, a former Republican state legislator from suburban Denver who once pushed for a red-flag measure, said he was disappointed, though not surprised, that the law was not used in the Colorado Springs case.

John Wist, 34, from Anne Arundel, voted for Lierman after switching his independent affiliation to the Democratic Party to cast a ballot in Tuesday’s primary.

Wist left the Republican Party this year, citing the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection as the reason, and is now unaffiliated with any political party.

Days after the slaughter of 19 children and 2 adults in an elementary school in Texas, ProPublica talked to Wist about the challenges ahead as proponents once again work to enact gun reforms.