Kiros Defeats DeGette in Colorado Primary
Democratic socialist Melat Kiros defeated long-serving US representative Diana DeGette in Colorado’s primary elections held on Tuesday, the latest in a string of high-profile victories for the party’s insurgent left. The Associated Press reported that Kiros had unseated DeGette for the Democratic nomination in the deep-blue first congressional district centered on Denver.
Impact and Context
Kiros’s triumph came a week after New York voters unseated two Democratic congressional incumbents and replaced a third who was retiring with candidates who had campaigned on standing up to Israel amid accusations that it was carrying out a genocide in Gaza. Her success in the solidly Democratic 1st District all but ensures her election in November.
Background on Kiros
Kiros, 29, was born in Ethiopia in 1997 – the year DeGette arrived in Congress – and graduated from law school at the University of Notre Dame in 2022. The following year, she wrote a blog post rejecting accusations that law students who protested Israel’s counterattack after 7 October were antisemitic. The New York law firm where Kiros was working fired her after she refused to take the post down, and she then went into politics.
Endorsements and Support
After announcing her run for Congress, Kiros picked up endorsements from progressive senator Bernie Sanders, as well as the Democratic Socialists of America and Justice Democrats, progressive groups that had also been involved in New York’s primaries.
