State Sen. Evie Hudak resigned her seat Wednesday, ending a recall effort being waged against her days before gun-rights activists were to turn in petitions to try to oust the Democrat from office.

In her resignation letter, Hudak said her decision would spare Jefferson County residents from having to shell out more than $200,000 for a special election, especially after the county has cut programs for seniors and mental health.

She praised the gun laws Democrats passed in the 2013 session that sparked recall efforts against her and two fellow senators, Senate President John Morse of Colorado Springs and Sen. Angela Giron of Pueblo.

Several Democratic lawmakers conceded that a recall election would have served as a distraction during the 2014 session for them and for Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is up for re-election.

And if voters in Hudak’s district had voted to oust her and replaced her with a Republican, the GOP would have gained control of the Senate by one seat. Democrats now have only an 18-17 majority over Republicans, thanks to the successful recalls of Morse and Giron, who were replaced by Republicans.

Under Colorado law, Hudak’s successor will be a member of her own party.

The names mentioned most often as possible successors are state Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp of Arvada, who unseated Republican Rep. Robert Ramirez of Westminster in 2012, and Arvada City Councilwoman Rachel Zenzinger.

“I am weighing all my options and figuring out what’s best for the district,” Kraft-Tharp said. “I’m out of town; I’m with my family. We’ll talk about it over turkey, and I’ll make a decision pretty quick.”

Hudak’s replacement would serve in the upcoming legislative session but would have to run for the seat in November 2014 to keep it.

About two dozen Hudak supporters gathered outside the Arvada Public Library on Wednesday to applaud the lawmaker for her work. They held signs that read “Thank you Evie.”

The senator was not present.

“Her record spoke for itself,” said Dennis Larsen, who has worked with Hudak and is a constituent. “She was a champion for education and cared about veterans and senior citizens.”

Recall supporters also showed up at the rally and at times shouted, “Let the voters decide.”

“This is a cowardly way out of the recall,” said Joe Neville, political director for Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, which initially opposed the Morse and Giron recalls, but took the lead on the Hudak effort. “We’re still charging toward Tuesday, and no matter what we’ll submit the petition signatures.”

However, under state election laws, had recall supporters submitted enough valid elections to force a recall, Hudak still would have had 10 days to resign her seat, which would have ended the special election.

Conventional wisdom said Hudak couldn’t survive a recall: She had won re-election in 2012 by less than 600 votes, and her inartful questioning of a rape victim during a hearing on one gun bill had made her a national target of Second Amendment activists.

An initial attempt to recall Hudak over the summer sputtered and failed. Activists then concentrated on Morse and Giron, the first state lawmakers ever recalled in Colorado history.

Hudak was at the Colorado Springs hotel on Sept. 10 when Morse gave his concession speech. She cried for the then senate president but had no idea then that the ordeal was about to begin again for her.

“This decision has been difficult to make,” Hudak wrote in her resignation letter.

“I believe I have listened closely to the ideas and concerns of my constituents in the past five years, both through over 100-town hall meetings and community coffees I have hosted, and in the thousands of e-mails and phone calls from engaged citizens in my community.”

A host of Democrats locally and nationally praised Hudak, a former teacher who also had served on the state Board of Education.

“Sen. Hudak is a tireless advocate for at-risk individuals, women, seniors and for the education of Colorado’s children,” Senate President-elect Morgan Carroll, an Aurora Democrat, said in a statement. “She has accomplished great things for her district and the people of Colorado, and she will be greatly missed.”

The liberal ProgressNow Colorado circulated a petition thanking Hudak. In it, the group accused the “right wing” of “breaking our democratic process by initiating an endless string of recall elections.”

But Ryan Call, chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, said Hudak’s resignation should be a lesson to all politicians.

“Do not ignore your constituents,” Call said.

Kurtis Lee: 303-954-1655, klee@denverpost.com or twitter.com/kurtisalee