Democratic socialist Melat Kiros defeats longtime House incumbent in Colorado primary

By — Jesse Bedayn, Associated Press Jesse Bedayn, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/democratic-socialist-melat-kiros-defeats-longtime-house-incumbent-in-colorado-primary Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Democratic socialist Melat Kiros defeats longtime House incumbent in Colorado primary Politics Jul 1, 2026 9:27 AM EDT Democratic socialist Melat Kiros beat U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette in a Colorado House primary Tuesday, a stunning victory for the first-time candidate against a nearly 30-year incumbent and another win for progressive challengers across the country. LIVE RESULTS: Colorado midterm primaries Kiros, a 29-year-old lawyer turned doctoral student, is the latest candidate to rise from the party's left flank and boot establishment-backed candidates. That includes two self-described democratic socialists and a progressive who won their Democratic primaries in New York last week. Kiros' victory adds to a nascent but clear uprising, stirred by frustration among some voters, that has vexed party leadership. Colorado's 1st Congressional District covers the dark blue city of Denver, and Kiros is expected to win in November and reach Congress in January. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. "We are winning from coast to coast," Kiros said to an ecstatic audience and the blast of air horns. "We are taking back our party and our country!" There were mixed results for progressives in Tuesday's other races. READ MORE: Insurgent progressives and veteran incumbents compete for Colorado Democrats' votes Sen. John Hickenlooper fended off a primary challenge from self-fashioned "insurgent progressive" state Sen. Julie Gonzales. And a smaller divide separated the two Democrats competing for U.S. House in the state's lone swing district, where the candidate considered more progressive, state Rep. Manny Rutinel, won. Kiros says 'we are just getting started' Taking to a stage under a sign that read "Power to the People," Kiros told her supporters that her win belonged to every one of them. "This is a movement," Kiros said. "We are just getting started." To an excited crowd, which had been singing and dancing moments before she got on stage, she laid out her plans: taking the fight to "Donald Trump and the oligarchy," abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, passing "Medicare for all" and ending the "genocide in Palestine." Those she thanked included DeGette, for standing up for women's rights, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, who endorsed her. DeGette — a more progressive lawmaker herself — had comfortably controlled her House seat in Denver for nearly 30 years and was backed by Colorado's established Democratic House delegation. The incumbent had argued that experience in Congress is needed right now to combat Trump, while Kiros, a former attorney, accused DeGette of ineffec