Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old Democratic socialist and barista-turned-lawyer, defeated Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado’s Denver-based 1st Congressional District Democratic primary Tuesday night, according to Decision Desk HQ and the Associated Press.
The Colorado result ended DeGette’s three-decade hold on the seat after she first took office months before Kiros was born. With 78% of the vote counted, the Associated Press called the race at 10:03 p.m., as Kiros led by just under 6 points. The upset made DeGette the seventh House member to lose renomination this election cycle and the third in seven days.
Highlights
- Melat Kiros defeated Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado’s Denver-based 1st Congressional District Democratic primary.
- DeGette had represented the district for three decades before losing renomination.
- The Associated Press called the race with Kiros leading by just under 6 points and 78% of the vote counted.
- Pro-DeGette super PACs spent more than $1.3 million on ads attacking Kiros in the final stretch.
- Kiros framed her win as part of a broader progressive push inside the Democratic Party.
Denver primary a warning sign for long-serving Democrats
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Decision Desk HQ projected Kiros as the winner at 10:31 p.m. EDT, and multiple outlets, including NBC News, CNN, The Hill, Colorado Public Radio and Colorado Newsline, reported matching results.
The race marked a major break in Colorado politics. In the last 50 years, only one House incumbent had lost a bid for reelection in a Colorado primary: Republican Lauren Boebert, who unseated five-term U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton in the 3rd Congressional District in 2020.
Kiros had signaled trouble for DeGette months before primary night. In March, she beat DeGette at the Democratic Party’s Denver assembly, taking roughly 67% of the party delegate vote to DeGette’s 33%, and winning the top spot on the ballot.
DeGette, 68, tried to frame the race around experience in the closing stretch. At a June 19 Denver Press Club debate, she said, "I fought Donald Trump as an impeachment manager in his first term. I fought against his illegal war in Iran... I fought to give everybody in this country the same abortion coverage we have here in Colorado. I’ve fought for single-payer healthcare. Now is not the time to gamble and send somebody with no experience."
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Outside groups also moved in late. A trio of pro-DeGette super PACs poured more than $1.3 million into ads attacking Kiros, according to AdImpact.
Kiros used election night to argue that voters wanted a sharper break from the party’s old guard. At The Broadway in Denver, she opened her acceptance speech by saying Denver voters "of all races, all ages, all religions sent a clear message" that they would not wait for change and "to end the genocide in Palestine," according to Colorado Newsline.
"This is a movement, and we are just getting started," Kiros said.
Supporters frame the result as a win for working-class people
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Kiros’ victory came just a week after challengers with support from New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani defeated two incumbent House Democrats, underscoring the growing influence of progressive and Democratic socialist candidates in party primaries.
Her message on Tuesday night matched that insurgent mood. "We will not wait to take the fight to Donald Trump and the oligarchy. We will not wait to abolish ICE and pass Medicare for All. We will not wait to put an end to the politics of the past, to get big money out of our politics, and to address corporate PACs and AIPAC. And no, we will not wait to end the genocide in Palestine," she said, according to CNN Politics.
Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb, who introduced Kiros, put the challenge even more bluntly. "They’re afraid of us, and you should be, because we’re not coming here to play," he said, according to CNN.
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Supporters framed the result as a win for working-class representation. Colorado Rep. Elizabeth Velasco told 9News, "This is the time for putting workers first, for having people that are like us in government and not more millionaires and billionaires."
The campaign also carried controversy. In an earlier campaign Facebook post cited by Fox News, DeGette said, "I’m shocked and disgusted that Kiros is doubling down on excusing terrorism and the murder of innocent people." Fox News also reported that Kiros had drawn criticism for past remarks about 9/11 and for declining to call a Boulder firebombing antisemitic.
For Democrats, the Denver result now adds another data point in a tense primary season. DeGette entered the race as one of the longest-serving members of Colorado’s congressional delegation. Kiros is the latest proof that incumbency alone does not settle the argument over where the party goes next.