Melat Kiros, the socialist candidate for Colorado House 1 has succeeded the 30-year incumbent in the Democratic Primary on Tuesday night. The race, which attracted national attention in recent weeks, was called at 22:31 GMT with 53,395 votes to Kiros (48.58%) by Decision Desk HQ.
“Tonight, this election belongs to every single one of you. If we organise and show no fear in standing up for what’s right, that is the message that Denver has sent to both parties, to Donald Trump and to the entire country.” Kiros said upon the announcement.
Having been in Congress for 30 years, incumbent Diana DeGette has served a total of 15 terms. Her main challenge this year was trying to convince voters she was still the best candidate to take on Trump and the Republicans in Congress: “Now is not the time to gamble and send somebody with no experience to Washington,” she said at a candidate forum event in early June.
But voters across Colorado’s 1st Congressional district disagreed, with Kiros winning a total of 67,959 votes (51.31%), and DeGette 55,179 (41.66%).
The race mirrored the New York primaries, with foreign policy and money in politics at the centre of it. As of June 28th, almost all of the $2.4 million sent by groups supporting DeGette had been spent. Compared to this, just over $600,000 was spent on behalf of Kiros, per Federal Election Commission filings, further distancing the two candidates.
At the Colorado Democratic Convention, Kiros outperformed her when qualifying for the primary ballot. Pressure mounting, DeGette ramped up her advertising three months before the election. Per Drop Site News, the House veteran received $2 million from pro-Israel political action committees (PACs) and major big tech donors over the course of the campaign.
Groups supporting DeGette ran various attack adverts against Kiros. Mile High Accountability Project, a super PAC that was registered on April 29th, accused her of wanting to divide Democrats. The ad also called Kiros a “recent Denver resident”. She responded to the attacks by calling them “disrespectful”. Kiros’ family immigrated to Denver from Ethiopia when she was a baby.
Kiros has not received any funds from pro-Israel PACs, and has also publicly recognised the genocide, while calling for an arms embargo on Israel. Her vocal criticism of US relations with Israel was central in the race. In 2023, she was fired from a law firm after refusing to take down an open letter in support of students protesting the genocide in Gaza.
Similar to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Kiros ran on five main points; Medicare for All, housing first, universal childcare, abolishing ICE and publicly financed elections. She posted from X: “A better world is within our reach, so let’s honour the organisers and dreamers that came before us and build it together.”
“I think voters have realised that the party and leadership are failing to meet this moment in a meaningful way, and it’s time for leaders who are actually going to be fighting for the interests of working people,” She also told CNN.
Kiros is a 29-year-old democratic socialist, who is currently pursuing a PhD and working as a barista. Her campaign, which landed some national coverage in the lead up to June, earned the endorsement of Senator Bernie Sanders. Like the New York primaries, Kiros’ campaign likely saw a larger turnout in voters under 45, and may have struggled to win that older-generation vote.
Her path to victory ultimately would have depended on her building a broad coalition of voters seeking a change in their politics. Driving strong turnout amongst young voters, which always proves a challenge, was certainly part of that. In a primary, voter turnout is often low as it is. Another struggle would most certainly have been persuading enough Independents to back her.
DeGette is among many multiple term-serving politicians facing a primary challenger. Amidst a push against the status quo, DeGette likely found herself battling to keep grip of the state she had represented for three decades. As the primary crept closer, polling seemed to be consistently in Kiros’ favour, likely putting more strain on the DeGette operation.
The Congresswoman has faced primary challenges in the past, as she pointed to during the campaign, but not quite like this one. Approaching the primary, Democratic strategists in Colorado told CNN this was likely the toughest race DeGette had faced in years. And in a time when corporate PAC money is proving to be a liability, DeGette was certainly in trouble when money began flooding the race.
Although DeGette touted her record and her support for progressive policies, it wasn’t enough this time around. Even endorsements from Democratic Representatives Jamie Raskin and Primila Jayapal didn’t translate into a win for DeGette.
Following the sweeping win in the New York primaries that saw multiple Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-backed candidates succeed, many progressives looked to Colorado in the hopes this appetite for change would persist.
This state would have been more of a challenge for the left flank of the Democratic Party when compared to New York, thus, this election could signal a change in the American electorate, and perhaps contribute to a larger movement within the Democratic Party. While centrist Dems have pointed to NYC as an exception to the rule, this election shows there may just be that momentum out in the West of the country too.