Democratic socialist Melat Kiros defeated longtime U.S. Representative Diana DeGette in Colorado’s primary election on Tuesday, marking another major win for the Democratic Party’s progressive wing in a series of recent high-profile upsets.
The Associated Press reported that Melat Kiros secured the Democratic nomination by defeating Diana DeGette in Colorado’s strongly Democratic 1st Congressional District centred in Denver. Kiros’ win came shortly after a series of progressive victories in New York, where voters removed two Democratic incumbents and selected a new candidate to replace a retiring lawmaker, with campaigns that highlighted opposition to Israel over allegations related to the war in Gaza.
Her victory in Colorado’s strongly Democratic 1st District places her in a strong position and makes a win in the November general election highly likely.
Born in Ethiopia in 1997, Melat Kiros is the same age as the number of years Diana DeGette has spent in Congress. The 29-year-old completed her legal studies at the University of Notre Dame in 2022.
A year later, she drew attention after publishing a blog post challenging claims that law students protesting Israel’s military response following the October 7 attacks were antisemitic. Kiros later lost her job at a New York law firm after refusing to delete the post and subsequently entered politics.
Following the launch of her congressional campaign, Kiros received backing from Bernie Sanders, along with support from Democratic Socialists of America and Justice Democrats — two progressive groups that also played a role in recent primary contests in New York.
Praising her victory, Justice Democrats said Kiros had “built a movement that inspired Denverites to remember they themselves have the power to transform what kind of Democratic Party they want to be represented by”.
“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 & genocide, and the immigration gestapo terrorizing our communities,” said Alexandra Rojas, the group’s executive director .
Kiros positioned her campaign as a generational alternative to 68-year-old DeGette, a member of the congressional progressive caucus who had previously backed major left-leaning policies including Medicare for All and the abolition of ICE. However, since Donald Trump returned to the White House, many Democratic voters have increasingly shown support for younger and more confrontational candidates seeking to challenge the party’s long-established leadership.
Kiros made U.S. policy toward Israel a central issue in her campaign. In an interview with Colorado Public Radio, she accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and argued that the United States should impose an arms embargo. DeGette, meanwhile, said she opposes sending offensive weapons to Israel but maintained in the interview that the country has the right to exist and defend itself.
DeGette’s campaign also pushed back against remarks Kiros made during a recent interview, including her decision not to state whether she believed the 2025 firebomb attack targeting pro-Israel demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, was driven by antisemitism.
“I don’t know what was in the heart of the perpetrator,” Kiros told 9News. “All I know is that he went and attacked innocent people because of what they might have believed. I don’t even know what the people that were at that protest believed, too.”
During the same interview, Kiros also sparked criticism after saying she viewed the September 11 attacks as “inevitable” for the United States, arguing that U.S. actions in parts of the Middle East had contributed to conditions that led some people to see violence as their only option.
Voter frustration with Washington politics appeared to influence Colorado’s elections on Tuesday. In the Democratic race to succeed outgoing Governor Jared Polis, Phil Weiser secured a narrow victory over U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, according to projections by the Associated Press.
Bennet, who has served in the Senate since 2009 and was initially viewed as the candidate to beat, lost momentum after Weiser argued that he had not been forceful enough in opposing cabinet appointments under Donald Trump.
In Colorado’s most closely contested House race, progressive state lawmaker Manny Rutinel defeated a more centrist Democratic rival, according to the Associated Press, setting up a November contest against Republican Congressman Gabe Evans.
Evans is viewed as politically vulnerable, and the district is considered one of a small number of battleground seats nationwide that could play a major role in deciding control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, incumbent Senator John Hickenlooper defeated a primary challenge from state Senator Julie Gonzales to secure the Democratic nomination. He is now set to face Republican candidate Mark Baisley, who advanced without opposition in his party’s primary.
