Democratic socialist Melat Kiros is trying to unseat Representative Diana DeGette in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District Democratic primary Tuesday, a matchup shaped by Israel-related tensions and a costly ad fight—only one week after progressives backed by
When Democratic socialist Melat Kiros walks into Tuesday’s primary against longtime Representative Diana DeGette, she’s not just trying to win a single seat in Colorado.
For Kiros and supporters in the left-wing political movement, the contest has the weight of a nationwide test. They see it as the next checkpoint for Democratic socialists after a burst of momentum in New York’s Democratic primaries last week. where progressives and Democratic socialists ousted incumbents and won an open House seat.
Kiros. a political newcomer and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. will face DeGette. who has represented the Denver area for nearly 30 years. Kiros has received backing from independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. and the race has quickly become a referendum not only on experience and change. but on how far left Democrats are willing to go.
The issue that has pulled the sharpest scrutiny into the campaign is Israel. While DeGette is widely regarded as progressive on many issues. her support for Israel has drawn criticism from the left and is viewed by progressives as a vulnerability that could be exploited by a more left-wing challenger.
Kiros has framed her run around that divide. Her campaign has pointed to how she says she was fired from a top law firm after she wrote an article defending students’ critiques of Israel. In the campaign, she has made criticism of the U.S. relationship with Israel a central theme.
DeGette’s campaign, meanwhile, has faced its own line of attack from Democrats and left groups. Kiros has been criticized by some Democrats for declining to call an attack on a Jewish community rally in Boulder last year antisemitic. In an interview with 9News, Kiros said, “I don’t know what was in the heart of the perpetrator. All I know is that he went and attacked innocent people because of what they might have believed. and I don’t even know what the people that were at that protest believed. too.”.
DeGette has also faced pressure for what critics describe as being more supportive of Israel. even as she voted against the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act because. as described in the campaign coverage. she “would not support additional offensive weapon sales to Israel that could be used against innocent Palestinians.”.
Election numbers are tight in a way that underscores how much the race is about persuasion rather than name recognition.
Only one poll has been made public so far. The survey. conducted by Data for Progress on behalf of Justice Democrats. a PAC supporting Kiros. shows Kiros leading narrowly among likely voters. It found that 41 percent of respondents planned to vote for Kiros and 36 percent said they would vote for DeGette. The poll surveyed 307 likely voters from June 11-15, according to The New York Times.
Prediction markets, however, tilt more decisively toward Kiros. She was favored with a 79 percent chance of victory on both Kalshi and Polymarket as of Monday morning. Those markets work through traders buying and selling contracts tied to political outcomes and current events. turning real-money wagers into probability estimates. The prices fluctuate as participants react to polling. fundraising. candidate developments. and broader political trends. measuring trader sentiment at a moment in time. not a guaranteed forecast.
Outside Israel, the race has also become a fight over who can define the district’s identity. DeGette has emphasized her experience serving in Congress since 1997, while Kiros has tried to present herself as a candidate who can bring change.
That contrast has played out in spending. A PAC called Mile High Accountability Project. opposing Kiros. argued that “Donald Trump loves Democrats like Kiros.” The Colorado Sun reported the PAC has spent $350. 000 on ads opposing her. In total, the newspaper reported that PACs have spent more than $1 million to help shore up DeGette.
Kiros responded directly to the ad campaign, pushing back against attack ads claiming she “just isn’t Denver.” She said, “I grew up here. This is my home. Nothing DeGette or these super PACs say can ever take that away from me or my family,” as she said in the campaign response.
The Colorado primary lands on the heels of a week when progressives celebrated outsized results in New York—results that left many on the left viewing the movement as gaining traction not just inside individual districts, but across the Democratic Party’s internal battles.
In New York. State legislator Claire Valdez won an open seat held by Representative Nydia Velázquez. who has served in Congress since 1993. Activist Darializa Avila Chevalier unseated Representative Adriano Espaillat—an incumbent defeat that came despite the absence of major scandals—and both candidates are members of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander also won a Democratic primary, unseating Representative Dan Goldman. While Lander is not a member of the DSA, he is seen as closely aligned with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the more progressive choice in the primary.
All three are expected to win easily in November because their districts are solidly Democratic.
Progressives have tied their hopes to what they see as broader momentum—an anti-Trump fury and frustration with how Democratic leadership has approached Trump. Some Democrats have even called for new leadership over Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer or House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. both of New York.
But the celebrations have not been uniform across the party. Parts of the establishment have worked to push back against the Democratic socialist insurgency.
A group of centrist Democrats rebuked the party’s most progressive wing by signing onto a new centrist initiative called “Promise to America.” That plan vows to “reject” socialism and back strong borders, capitalism, and patriotism.
Progressives, though, have treated the New York results as proof that their push can break through. The DSA wrote in a social media post last week: “Our movement is growing because working people are fed up with the high cost of rent and groceries and medical bills. They know we deserve good union jobs, affordable rent, dignified lives. They’re ready to try something else—socialism.”.
Tuesday’s Colorado primary is the next test of whether that energy can translate into a win against one of the party’s longest-tenured members—DeGette. whose nearly 30 years in office are now being challenged in a district shaped by Denver’s progressive politics and a fight over what comes next for the left inside the Democratic Party.
Melat Kiros Diana DeGette Colorado 1st Congressional District Democratic Socialists of America DSA Israel Bernie Sanders Zohran Mamdani Justice Democrats Mile High Accountability Project