He attended the University of Colorado Boulder from 1992 to 1996, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and accounting and a minor in economics.

[21] He voted in favor of legislation to allow municipalities to require affordable housing which had been prohibited since a ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court in 2000.

[22] He was the only Republican in the state senate to vote in favor of legislation to prevent landlords from using or disclosing the citizenship or immigration status of their tenants.

[24] Priola was the only Republican to vote in favor of legislation to prohibit employers from retaliating against their workers for reporting health and safety concerns or violations.

[25] He co-sponsored legislation to repeal the death penalty, and at one point was the only Republican supporter of the bill, stating that he opposes capital punishment due to his Catholic beliefs and how it disproportionately targets black people.

[26][3] He voted in favor of reducing the sentence of felony murder from life in prison without parole to a maximum of forty-eight years.

[28] Patrick Neville, the Republican Minority Leader in the state house, threatened to have recall attempts made against Democratic members of the Colorado General Assembly who supported the legislation, but not against Priola.

[29] Priola sponsored legislation to prohibit the selling or marketing of flavored products by cigarette, tobacco, or nicotine retailers.

[36] After the January 6 United States Capitol attack, he called for President Trump to be removed from office through either the Twenty-fifth Amendment or impeachment.