Frizell, who will become minority leader, said her focus will be on the pocketbook pressures facing Colorado households and small businesses.

"When a family opens a higher utility bill or a small-business owner wonders whether they can afford to hire someone, decisions we make at the Capitol matter," she said in a statement. "Our job this session is to ask what each proposal will cost, who will pay for it, and how we can do better for the people we represent."

The caucus also filled out its leadership team. Sen. Byron Pelton of Sterling will move into the assistant minority leader role Frizell is vacating. Sen. Janice Rich of Grand Junction will remain minority whip, and Sen. Scott Bright of Platteville was elected caucus chair.

Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer of Brighton will keep representing the caucus on the Joint Budget Committee, the panel that shapes the state's spending plan. Kirkmeyer has held that seat since 2023 and is entering her fifth year on the committee.

The leadership shuffle follows the departure of current Minority Leader Cleave Simpson of Alamosa, who is leaving the Senate to serve as commissioner of agriculture in Gov.-elect Phil Weiser's administration. The appointment was welcomed by rural communities and agricultural groups across the state.

Simpson said in a statement that serving as minority leader had been "a great honor" and that he leaves "with peace of mind, knowing Coloradans are in good hands with the newly elected leadership team."

The new team takes over a caucus that will again be in the minority in the Senate. With 11 members, Republicans will be working with a Democratic majority as the chamber takes up the state budget, energy policy and cost-of-living measures. Frizell's emphasis on affordability and fiscal scrutiny signals where the caucus intends to draw its lines in the coming session.

The 2027 session convenes Monday, Jan. 11.