Democratic Socialist Melat Kiros Defeats 15-Term Democrat Diana DeGette in Colorado Primary

Twenty-nine-year-old democratic socialist Melat Kiros defeated 15-term Democrat Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado’s First Congressional District primary on Tuesday, signaling that the left-wing insurgency that rocked New York is spreading beyond the Empire State.

Kiros, who was born the same year DeGette first took office, is a “lawyer, PhD student and barista,” according to 19th News, as well as a first-time candidate and Democratic Socialists of America member whose family immigrated to the United States from Ethiopia when she was a baby.

The Associated Press (AP) called the race for Kiros at 11:03 p.m. on June 30, with an estimated 78 percent of the vote counted. Kiros had 49.3 percent of the vote to DeGette’s 43.5 percent, while University of Colorado Regent Wanda James had 7.2 percent.

Kiros described 9/11 as “inevitable” and said U.S. destabilization in the Middle East “forced people to believe” another act of violence was the only response — remarks that critics say amount to apologism for the September 11 attacks.

The race drew national attention after last week’s New York primaries, where democratic socialist candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani defeated establishment Democrats, including incumbent Reps. Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat. Kiros’s victory over DeGette in Denver suggests the left-wing anti-establishment wave is not limited to New York and could pose a broader problem for longtime Democratic incumbents in safe blue seats.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) warned that “Marxists, socialists, and the insurgent far-left” have taken over the Democratic Party and that “Mini-Mamdani” candidates are emerging nationwide, while House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said Democrats had officially become the “party of socialism.”

President Donald Trump used New York’s results to hammer Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), saying Schumer had “lost his way” and had undergone “the greatest transformation of a political ideology I’ve ever seen” on Israel. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) similarly told Breitbart News Daily that it is “alarming” that voters in some areas are backing socialists, arguing that many young people associate socialism with “fairness” without understanding its consequences.

Before the primary, DeGette, 68, had told colleagues she believed she would prevail, though Axios reported that House Democrats were watching the race with concern. One House Democrat told the outlet it was “quite likely DeGette will lose” and warned that Democratic leadership that “ignores this” does so “at its own peril.” Other lawmakers said DeGette had been taking the challenge seriously, with one saying it was “not helpful when Bernie and colleagues endorse against you.”

Kiros has been endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), and has support from left-wing groups including DSA, Track AIPAC, the Colorado Working Families Party, Justice Democrats, and the Sunrise Movement. Justice Democrats’ super PAC has spent more than $500,000 backing Kiros, while left-wing PAC American Priorities has spent $150,000, according to Axios.

DeGette, despite being a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a Medicare-for-All cosponsor, has been attacked from the left as a defender of Israel and recipient of corporate PAC support. She has been endorsed by the co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, Reps. Greg Casar (D-TX), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), along with pro-abortion groups and establishment-aligned progressive organizations.

Kiros has argued that the Democratic Party has “lost step” with its working-class roots and said Democrats must reckon with “the role that our party has played in maintaining this oligarchy.” She has framed the race as a question of whether DeGette is out of touch with Denver voters, calling Colorado’s First Congressional District “one of the most progressive and one of the youngest districts in the country” and arguing that the district’s values align with her platform.

Kiros has tied abortion access to economic policy, with her campaign platform declaring that “reproductive freedom is also economic freedom” and calling to codify abortion in federal law and make abortion a constitutional right. Her platform also says reproductive care must include contraception, maternal health, fertility treatment, and “gender-affirming services,” while Breitbart News previously reported that Kiros backed a “Trans Bill of Rights” and called for a stronger push behind transgender policies.

Kiros has also called for abolishing ICE, telling Marxist livestreamer Hasan Piker, the nephew of The Young Turks broadcaster Cenk Uygur, that ending the agency is “just one step” and that there should be an “immediate pathway for every undocumented immigrant.” She has also described Denver as “really, really, really strong” when it comes to “welcoming immigrants” and being a sanctuary city.

Kiros has suggested that left-wing primary winners should use their votes as leverage against Democratic leadership. “If enough of us share that commitment to Medicare for All, to ending corporate capture, to an arms embargo [on Israel], we should absolutely say: here are our conditions,” she told Axios. “If you want our votes on leadership, on appropriations, this is what it costs.” Asked whether she would vote for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) as speaker, Kiros said she “will not vote for any Democrat for a leadership position if they take corporate PAC money.” She also said Democratic leadership is “too cautious, too incremental, and too afraid of upsetting their donors.”

Kiros has said, “Capitalism is responsible for a lot of the degradation that we’re seeing in our economy … in our democracy … in our climate as well.” In a 9NEWS interview, she also said she was “excited” to see Palantir Technologies leave Colorado, accusing the company of “embedding itself within the United States government, taking as much of our data as possible and using it for their own benefit.” Asked whether she would also like to see major employers leave Colorado, Kiros named Lockheed and Suncor, adding, “I sincerely believe that companies that profit off of war are not companies that we should seek to promote and grow. I want to see a world where war doesn’t exist anymore.”