Updated Aug 9, 2026
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Colorado socialist ousts 15-term Democrat by 13 points, alarming party veterans

DENVER, Aug. 9. Democratic socialist Melat Kiros defeated 15-term incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette by 13 points in Colorado's June Democratic primary, a margin that veteran strategists say signals a structural shift inside the party reaching well beyond New York.

By Naomi Osei2 min read
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Key takeaways

  • Democratic socialist Melat Kiros defeated 15-term incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette by 13 points in Colorado's June Democratic primary.
  • Kiros ran on Medicare for all, universal childcare, public housing investments, higher federal taxes on the wealthy, and publicly owned utilities.
  • Her campaign knocked on more than 100,000 doors and phone-banked 500,000 voters before election night.
  • The centrist group Third Way told The New York Times it plans a $15 million campaign to counter the DSA, which it called a "mortal danger" to the party.
  • Kiros will face Republican Christy Peterson in the Nov. 3 general election, in a district Kamala Harris carried with 77 percent of the vote in 2024.

DENVER, Aug. 9. Democratic socialist Melat Kiros defeated 15-term incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette by 13 points in Colorado's June Democratic primary, a margin that veteran strategists say signals a structural shift inside the party reaching well beyond New York.

Party veterans absorb the result

Doug Friednash, a former Denver city attorney and chief of staff to former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, now a partner at Brownstein, said the scale of the loss stunned him. "If you had told me this woman would have won by 13 points, I would have bet my house against that," Friednash told Fox News Digital. He noted that DSA-backed candidates have already taken seats in the Colorado state legislature and on city councils in recent cycles, making Kiros' win the largest expression yet of a trend already underway.

Kiros' campaign knocked on more than 100,000 doors and ran a phone bank reaching 500,000 voters before election night, according to reports. She ran on Medicare for all, universal childcare, public housing investments, higher federal taxes on the wealthy, and publicly owned utilities. Friednash said affordability drove the result: younger Denver residents who cannot buy homes channeled frustration at the Democratic establishment into a vote for Kiros.

National money mobilizes against the DSA

The centrist group Third Way told The New York Times it plans a $15 million campaign to counter the Democratic Socialists of America, which the organization described as a "mortal danger" to the party. Friednash compared the DSA's rise to the MAGA movement inside the Republican Party, warning that mainstream Democrats are embracing socialist candidates out of fear rather than conviction, and that the posture will cost the party in competitive districts.

Dissenting voices in Colorado

Jon Caldara, president of the Denver-based Independence Institute, said the state party has moved beyond what its own leadership can control. Gene Maine, an engineer who fled the Soviet Union in 1981 and has lived in Erie, Colorado since the 1990s, said Kiros won because a well-organized ground game persuaded younger voters that government can deliver services without trade-offs. "There's no free lunch," Maine said.

Kiros, appearing on PBS's "Firing Line," dismissed concerns about communists inside the DSA, telling host Margaret Hoover the issue is "just noise from the Republican Party" until a self-described communist actually wins an election. Republican Christy Peterson, a local accountant, will face Kiros in the Nov. 3 general election. Kamala Harris carried the district with 77 percent of the vote in 2024.

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Frequently asked

Who won the Colorado Democratic primary and by how much?

Democratic socialist Melat Kiros defeated 15-term incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette by 13 points in the June Democratic primary.

What issues did Kiros campaign on?

She ran on Medicare for all, universal childcare, public housing investments, higher federal taxes on the wealthy, and publicly owned utilities.

How are national Democratic groups responding to the DSA's rise?

The centrist group Third Way told The New York Times it plans a $15 million campaign to counter the DSA, which it described as a "mortal danger" to the party.

Who will Kiros face in the general election?

Kiros will face Republican Christy Peterson, a local accountant, in the Nov. 3 general election.

Why do observers say Kiros won?

Strategist Doug Friednash said affordability drove the result, with younger Denver residents unable to buy homes channeling frustration at the Democratic establishment into a vote for Kiros, aided by a well-organized ground game.