One of the swiftest paths to extreme politics is one-party rule.

The ruling party gets giddy wielding so much power and inevitably abuses it, pushing the envelope ever further with progressively more reckless policies. The party locked out of power responds with ever-more hysterical indignation each election cycle, matching the extreme politics of the party in power with extreme predictions of impending doom.

The upshot of it all is voters get fed up, disillusioned and ultimately disengaged. They also get a lot of bad policy along the way.

What’s missing from that equation is some balance — without which, of course, there isn’t much of an equation in the first place.

That’s pretty much the current state of affairs at Colorado’s state Capitol, given its lopsided political alignment. Democrats hold all the levers of power in our state government — in both the legislative and the executive branches. All statewide elected posts from governor on down are occupied by Democrats.

In the Legislature, Democrats hold 46 of the 65 seats in the state House of Representatives — a super majority. All Democrats need is to increase their majority in the state Senate by one seat, and they’ll have a super majority in that chamber, as well. That would mean they could override a veto by Gov. Jared Polis, himself a Democrat and yet, at times, at odds with the Legislature on some key issues.

Emboldened by their overwhelming numbers — and goaded by a growing radical fringe — legislative Democrats have been passing more extreme laws driven by narrow dogma rather than the broad public interest. On business regulation; on energy; on criminal justice; on transportation — the list grows every year.

There would be little to complain about if Colorado were one of the states where Democrats long have comprised the overwhelming majority of rank-and-file voters. Or, for that matter, like those Republican states where most voters affiliate with the GOP.

But historically “purple” Colorado is not at all like those states. In fact, Democrats, who claim only 26% of registered voters, constitute almost as small a political minority as do Colorado’s Republicans at 23.4%. Fully 48.5% of Colorado’s voters now register as unaffiliated.

Meaning, a small political minority has been calling all the shots in making the policies the majority must live by.

At the very least, it’s imperative to stop Colorado political leadership from falling off the cliff into the radical abyss. Maybe seeking balance is a bit ambitious for this November’s ballot; what’s critical for now is simply providing a check on extremism at the Legislature. Even Polis and the more moderate Democrats at the Legislature probably would appreciate it.

With that in mind, The Gazette Editorial Board endorses six Republican candidates for the Legislature — vying for three House seats and three Senate seats across Colorado — in hopes of restoring moderation at the state Capitol. They are:

Marc Catlin in Senate District 5

Scott Bright in Senate District 13

Cleave Simpson in Senate District 6

Matt Burcham in House District 43

George Mumma in House District 25

Dan Woog in House District 19

They hail from different points in the state, some urban, some rural, and have different degrees of political experience. Some already serve in the General Assembly (Catlin currently is in the House, and Simpson is seeking reelection in the Senate.) What they have in common as members of the minority party is the ability to help pull the majority back from the brink.

To be sure, some Colorado Republicans have had challenges of their own in relating to Colorado’s political middle and especially its unaffiliated voters on some issues. But the six Republicans we endorse here are worthy of office and thoughtful in their approach — and electing them will help pull Colorado politics out of a political nosedive.

The Gazette Editorial Board