Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old democratic socialist, defeated U.S. Representative Diana DeGette in Colorado's primary election on Tuesday, delivering the latest shock victory for the party's insurgent left wing in a cycle dominated by challenges to Democratic establishment figures.
Kiros's win in the heavily Democratic first congressional district centered on Denver virtually guarantees her election in November. The result marks a generational collision in a safe Democratic seat, with Kiros mounting an aggressive campaign against the 68-year-old DeGette, who had held the seat since arriving in Congress in 1997, the same year Kiros was born in Ethiopia.
The upset came just a week after New York voters ousted two sitting Democratic members of Congress and replaced a retiring third, in contests where candidates had made U.S. support for Israel and the Gaza conflict central to their campaigns. Kiros similarly elevated concerns about American military aid to Israel throughout her challenge to DeGette, calling for an arms embargo and accusing Israel of committing genocide.
DeGette, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus with a voting record that supports Medicare for all and the abolition of ICE, opposed providing offensive weapons to Israel but defended the country's right to exist and defend itself. She nonetheless found herself cast as the establishment target in a Democratic primary increasingly dominated by younger candidates willing to break with party leadership.
Kiros brought significant progressive firepower to her long-shot campaign. She secured endorsements from Senator Bernie Sanders, the Democratic Socialists of America, and Justice Democrats, the latter a group that had also backed the successful challengers to House members in New York last week.
Alexandra Rojas, executive director of Justice Democrats, said the group's victories reflected a shift in the Democratic base. "Melat and our candidates continue winning this cycle because Democratic voters are finally getting leaders acting on their demands to bring the fight to the corporations raising our prices, the war lobbies profiting off endless war and genocide, and the immigration gestapo terrorizing our communities," Rojas said in a statement.
Kiros graduated from Notre Dame Law School in 2022 and worked at a New York law firm before her entry into politics. In 2023, she wrote a blog post defending law students who had protested against Israel's military operations following October 7 against accusations of antisemitism. When she refused to remove the post at her employer's request, the firm fired her.
During the campaign, Kiros drew criticism for comments she made in recent media interviews. When asked about a 2025 firebombing attack on pro-Israel demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, Kiros declined to characterize the attack as antisemitic, telling 9News that she did not know what motivated the perpetrator. She also described the September 11 attacks as "inevitable" for the United States due to its destabilization of the Middle East, saying that violence became what some believed was the "only response."
DeGette's campaign seized on these remarks, using them to distinguish the longtime incumbent from her challenger on national security matters.
Tuesday's elections in Colorado reflected broader discontent with Democratic leadership across the state. In the governor's race, Attorney General Phil Weiser defeated U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, who had been considered the early frontrunner despite representing Colorado in the Senate since 2009. Weiser's campaign criticized Bennet for insufficient opposition to Donald Trump's cabinet nominees.
In a competitive House race that could help determine congressional control, progressive state representative Manny Rutinel defeated a more moderate Democrat to advance to a general election against Republican Congressman Gabe Evans, who is considered vulnerable.
Senator John Hickenlooper repelled a progressive challenge from state senator Julie Gonzales to secure the Democratic nomination. He faces Republican Mark Baisley, a state senator who ran unopposed for his party's nomination.
Author James Rodriguez: "Kiros's victory signals that Gaza and Israel have become litmus-test issues for Democratic primary voters, especially younger ones, and DeGette's long tenure couldn't shield her from that realignment."
Comments