Colorado Democratic – Colorado’s Democratic primaries delivered a string of upsets that left longtime establishment figures reeling—beginning with Michael Bennet’s loss in the governor’s race to Phil Weiser and continuing with Melat Kiros unseating Rep. Diana DeGette. The results a
Denver’s Democratic night began with a kind of calm confidence—and then snapped into something else.
At the resurrected Schoolyard Beer Garden in Denver. the first results landing in Michael Bennet’s campaign party were supposed to confirm a predictable story: a senator appointed in 2009. who’d gone on to win two reelection races and build a reputation for working across the aisle. had announced early last year that he could do more in Colorado than in Washington. DC. and was now running for governor against an incumbent’s successor-less path. The senator had the name and the money. He seemed to have the edge.
Instead. the momentum that had been building around Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser—who had already announced he was running for the governor’s office held by the term-limited Democratic incumbent Jared Polis—kept moving faster as the year went on. Weiser. who was finishing up his second term. had filed dozens of lawsuits since Donald Trump returned to the White House. and that legal push became a defining engine for the governor’s race.
When the race was called within the hour after the first results hit the campaign party, it landed with finality. Weiser won; Bennet would be going back to the Senate.
That wasn’t the only shift the night made plain. The story of who Colorado Democrats consider “establishment” versus “outsider” became sharper as the primary season progressed—so much so that even politicians known for working within the state’s independent streak found themselves painted into a corner.
Colorado has long prided itself on being willing to put place over party. More than half of its voters are unaffiliated, though they’re allowed to vote in the primary—and most chose the Democratic ballot this round. That has historically rewarded mavericks.
Almost 60 years ago, Colorado was the first state to legalize abortion. A few years later, voters turned down the Winter Olympics, citing concerns about what the event would do to the environment and who would wind up paying the price for hosting.
But this year. both Bennet and state politics’ other familiar figures were pulled toward the same dividing line: establishment versus outsider. After Julie Gonzales entered the race for governor last December. positioning herself as a progressive alternative to Jared Polis’s political universe and often described as a contrast to Hickenlooper’s brand of independence. both the Bennet and Hickenlooper lanes were pressured into clearer identities.
Bennet’s prior role gave his campaign political gravity. He had served as chief of staff for John Hickenlooper when Hickenlooper was mayor of Denver, before Hickenlooper went on to the governor’s office and then the U.S. Senate.
Hickenlooper had seemed to have his second term locked in when Gonzales got in—until the way Colorado voters processed her presence reshaped the final stretch. Like Bennet, Hickenlooper was tagged as establishment. In the homestretch of the primary, he tended to avoid events that included Gonzales.
That left Gonzales close enough to show what the moment demanded. While Gonzales didn’t win the primary, she came within 10 points of Colorado’s most popular politician.
Her approach also drew direct attacks from Republicans. Mark Baisley. a Republican Senate candidate. complained that “Julie Gonzales’s Mamdani-style approach to government reflects a belief that more spending. programs. and government intervention are the answers to nearly every problem.” Even that framing didn’t produce a win for her opponent in the Democratic contest. but it did underline how closely voters were being pushed toward a choice about the role of government.
The real election to watch, though, was not the governor’s race at all—it was Colorado’s First Congressional District, where long-running power had been built on reliability.
For even longer, the seat had been represented by Diana DeGette, a non-flashy workhorse who was going for her 16th term. DeGette is also described as the most progressive member of Colorado’s congressional delegation.
Before Melat Kiros entered the race, DeGette had already drawn a challenger in Wanda James, a University of Colorado regent. James had strategized for Barack Obama and opened the first Black-owned marijuana dispensary in the state.
Kiros, at 29 years old, came in as a Democratic socialist and lawyer turned barista. Her background was shaped by immigration and a quick route through the political world that didn’t look like the normal path to a primary upset. Her family emigrated to the United States when Kiros was a baby. She attended law school at Notre Dame. then returned to Denver after she was fired by a New York law firm for a letter she posted on Substack in November 2023 defending students protesting Israel’s war in Gaza.
As a candidate, Kiros kept Palestine at the center of her pitch—an especially volatile issue in Colorado. In June 2025, a group of Jewish protesters had been violently attacked.
Kiros’s campaign also collided with a different kind of threat environment. Firebrand left-wing Twitch streamer Hasan Piker was set to appear at the June 14 “Power to the People: Young. Bold and Unbought” rally in support of Kiros. Gonzales and other progressive candidates. The date was abruptly canceled after various venues refused to host it. The last two venues cited threats and security challenges.
Kiros said on Instagram that DeGette had “called up her donor class to silence us.” Her team moved the rally to the state capitol steps, with Piker appearing via livestream. “This was an actual act of suppression,” Kiros told him.
DeGette’s team answered with a statement that came off as lively compared with the campaign’s usual tone: “If Melat Kiros wants to campaign with someone who said America deserved 9/11 we’d do nothing to stop her.”
But the event disruption—whatever its underlying cause—pulled attention toward Kiros. Her insurgent run also gained traction from victories of Mandami-endorsed Democratic socialists in New York a week earlier. By this past weekend, her race against DeGette was leading national news shows.
When the first results came in shortly after 7 pm, Kiros had a solid lead. That lead widened as the night went on. The race was called just after 10 pm.
By then, Kiros’ numbers were so strong that even if DeGette had gotten all of James’s votes, Kiros still would have won.
In the victory moment, Kiros told the cheering crowd: “A year ago, a lot of experienced people told us this was impossible.” She said they told her “you can’t beat a 30-year incumbent,” and that “the establishment and the oligarchy is just too big and too powerful to overcome.”
Then she turned the message outward. “Denver voters of all ages, of all races, of all religions sent a clear message: We will not wait!” she said. Her promise was sweeping and concrete: she vowed to end ICE, provide universal healthcare, and end genocide in Palestine.
“We believe that fundamental change can, and will, happen if we fight for it—if we organize, if we show no fear in standing up for what’s right,” Kiros said. “That is the message that Denver has sent to both parties, to Donald Trump and to the entire country.”
Hasan Piker was at the Kiros election watch, where fans stood in line to greet him. The party lasted long into the night.
Now the question turns to what Colorado’s Democrats and Republicans do with the shock.
This morning, Colorado Republicans still want to know what direction their party will take. Barbara Kirkmeyer—described as a former county commissioner and longtime state lawmaker who works alongside Gonzales in the Colorado Senate—was waiting to see if she would hold her slight edge over Victor Marx in the Republican gubernatorial race. Marx is described as a well-funded minister who says he killed a man when he was 7 and claims he can conduct exorcisms over the phone.
If Kirkmeyer takes on Weiser, she would be the most reasonable Republican gubernatorial candidate in decades; Colorado has only had one Republican governor in over 50 years.
In other Republican primary challenges, the centrist candidates were also claiming victory.
So even without a Marx win, Colorado Republicans could be undergoing an “exorcism,” as the language in the politics world has it—moving away from extremes toward the middle. The same shift is not happening on the Democratic side.
Colorado Democrats, instead, are moving left faster after the outcomes of these races. Political pundits sound stunned by the change. Longtime politicians who built careers on being aligned with Colorado’s maverick mood now appear at a loss. For progressives, the message is simpler: the fight has only just started.
Colorado primaries Phil Weiser Michael Bennet Jared Polis Julie Gonzales Diana DeGette Melat Kiros ICE universal healthcare Palestine Hasan Piker