When the left-wing DougCo Collective released poll results concerning a potential recall of the Douglas County School Board’s four-member conservative majority, it just so happened to come after Colorado Republicans nominated a statewide slate of candidates who Democrats cannot easily malign or pigeonhole.

First reported by Westword last week, the poll of 651 likely voters in Douglas County found that roughly 60% said they would vote “yes” in a recall while 39% said “no.” The survey requires a far deeper look, however.

In the poll, respondents were posed two competing answers to the question, “Which is closer to your opinion about the firing of Superintendent Corey Wise by the newly elected School Board majority?”

“They were RIGHT to make this change since voters just elected them in protest against policies like mask mandates and liberal Woke equity instruction,” read one option.

The other was more strident: “They were WRONG to use secret meetings to abruptly fire a long-time Superintendent with a good track record running the District providing quality education when he was only following the federal ‘rule of law’ on masks, COVID safety, and equity policy.”

While just 33% opted for the first answer, 66% chose “WRONG.” No wonder: The second option offers a fervent defense of one position that deceptively presumes a number of things that are highly disputable. If voters are unaware of the details — and a lopsided view of what happened is presented — then such a response seems obvious.

The Fredericks Polls survey was also conducted on behalf of DougCo Collective. As I’ve previously explained, the Collective is an “apparent (teachers) union ally” that was incorporated in March “by veteran education bureaucrat Elliott Asp.”

The Collective immediately began emphasizing what they claim is “a significant lack of trust in the Douglas County community with the newly elected BoE majority directors.” The Collective seems to be doing the bidding of its union allies, who dislike being on the out when it comes to what they consider “their turf.”

This helps explain why the DougCo union’s president, Kevin DiPasquale, hedged in May when asked if the union favors a recall if it makes it more difficult to pass greater pay for teachers. DiPasquale dodged, insisting a recall “is a question for the community to address.”

“The actions of the new school board members probably inhibit the community’s desire to fully fund schools as district dollars are being spent to defend egregious actions of the new board members,” he asserted.

With the release of their suspect poll just months after the Collective was formed, it is evident their entire existence is to initiate and lead a recall of the board majority. Now, after last Tuesday’s primary election results, you can expect a more pronounced recall push.

In June, Democrats injected several million dollars in dark money ads and mailers into the Republican primaries. They hoped to use what former U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill described as “reverse psychology” to manipulate Republicans into nominating candidates that would be easier to beat.

Democrats failed. As I wrote last week, “Tuesday represents the worst possible outcome for the Democrats’ narrative that Colorado Republicans are ‘extreme.’ In the wake of the most astonishing Colorado primary season in memory — one in which Republicans ultimately rejected deceit, insanity and left-wing dark money — the GOP now has the chance of thrusting a red wave against genuinely vulnerable Democrats.”

Additionally, turnout data indicates nearly 120,000 more ballots were voted in the Republican primary than the Democratic primary. Sure, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis and Sen. Michael Bennet were unopposed — but a large swath of GOP primary-goers were Unaffiliated. History teaches that voters tend to support the primary candidate or party they voted for come the general election. Turnout is a good sign for the GOP.

A DougCo recall could offer Democrats a broader message than just Douglas County. To that end, the recall’s main purpose would be to drive more voter turnout as Democrats fear significant midterm losses.

They should be concerned. For example, the decisive nomination of Pam Anderson for secretary of state — clocking in 14 percentage points above indicted Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters — undermines incumbent Jena Griswold’s main reelection argument.

Anderson is deeply steeped in elections — having served two terms as Jefferson County clerk and led the County Clerks Association — and is a firm advocate for Colorado’s election system who opposes the “stolen election” conspiracy theories.

Meanwhile, the turnout potential for the abortion issue will be limited in Colorado compared to other states. Here, Democrats already passed the most extreme pro-abortion law in the country — and Republican U.S. Senate nominee Joe O’Dea is openly and unassailably moderate on abortion.

America is almost certainly in recession, as the nation’s economy contracted in the first quarter and it’s likely we contracted in the second as well. (A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth.) Colorado Democrat policies — such as their brand-new “fees” on deliveries and rideshares – will only exacerbate the preexisting inflationary crisis and recessionary spiral.

Let’s be real: Colorado Democrats are running scared in 2022 — and they need to drum up whatever they can to boost November turnout. Polis was even booed at the Avalanche Stanley Cup celebration. They need to churn out whatever blood-boiling controversies they can — even if it means a manipulative school board recall.

Jimmy Sengenberger is host of “The Jimmy Sengenberger Show” Saturdays from 6-9am on News/Talk 710 KNUS. He also hosts “Jimmy at the Crossroads,” a webshow and podcast in partnership with The Washington Examiner.