Colorado Democrats voted to end one of the longest congressional tenures in the state's history Tuesday, choosing 29-year-old democratic socialist Melat Kiros over Rep. Diana DeGette, who had represented Denver's 1st Congressional District for three decades.
The upset means the removal of one of the Democratic Party's most established House members and adds to a series of victories by progressive challengers who have unseated incumbent Democrats in recent weeks. Kiros' campaign centered on the need for new leadership at a time when Democrats remain out of power in Washington and divisions over issues such as the Israel-Hamas war have reshaped primary contests across the country, NBC News detailed.
DeGette, 68, first won election to Congress in 1996 and took office in 1997, months before Kiros was born. Throughout her tenure, she built a reputation as one of the House's more liberal members, backing policies including Medicare for All and serving as an impeachment manager during President Donald Trump's second Senate impeachment trial following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Despite those credentials, Kiros argued throughout the campaign that Democratic voters wanted a more confrontational approach to both the Trump administration and the party's own leadership. At Colorado's Democratic assembly earlier this year, she came close to denying DeGette a place on the primary ballot, an early sign that the incumbent faced an unusually competitive challenge.
Kiros, a lawyer and daughter of Ethiopian immigrants who came to the United States as a baby, received endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Democratic Socialists of America and Justice Democrats. Her campaign focused on affordability, universal health care and labor issues while also making U.S. policy toward Israel a central issue.
The war in Gaza also became one of the defining issues of the race. Kiros called for an immediate and unconditional arms embargo on Israel and ending U.S. military funding for the country, arguing that such steps were necessary to achieve a lasting peace.
Kiros also faced scrutiny over comments describing Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel as "the inevitable consequence of apartheid" and for declining in a television interview to characterize a firebombing attack targeting demonstrators supporting Israeli hostages in Boulder as antisemitic. DeGette's campaign and outside groups highlighted those remarks in television advertising during the closing weeks of the campaign, while supporters defended Kiros' broader criticism of U.S. Middle East policy.
Kiros' victory follows a string of recent primary wins by progressive candidates aligned with the Democratic Party's left flank. Last week, several New York City Democratic candidates backed by Zohran Mamdani defeated establishment rivals, reinforcing a trend that continued in Colorado.
Tuesday's primary also produced other notable statewide results. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser defeated Sen. Michael Bennet for the Democratic nomination for governor, while Sen. John Hickenlooper secured renomination despite a challenge from the left. In the state's competitive 8th Congressional District, state Rep. Manny Rutinel won the Democratic primary to face Republican Rep. Gabe Evans in November. The Associated Press reported those races reflected broader anti-establishment sentiment among Democratic primary voters in Colorado.
