House Democrats are facing renewed questions about the future of their leadership after another veteran lawmaker was ousted by a progressive challenger, with the party's nominee in one of the country's safest Democratic districts signaling she will not support House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to continue leading House Democrats.
Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old democratic socialist backed by Bernie Sanders, defeated 15-term incumbent Diana DeGette in Tuesday's Democratic primary, marking one of the biggest establishment defeats of the 2026 election cycle. With Colorado's 1st Congressional District considered safely Democratic, Kiros is widely expected to win the general election in November.