In the Denver primary, 15‑term U.S. Representative Diana DeGette was defeated by socialist candidate Melat Kiros. With 93% of ballots tallied, Kiros was ahead by nearly ten percentage points early Wednesday morning.
The outcome mirrors recent New York City primaries where candidates backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani swept key races, suggesting a growing appetite for left‑wing challengers within the Democratic Party.
Kiros campaigned on a platform that includes a $22 minimum wage, Medicare for All, the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the release of all ICE detainees and an expansion of the social safety net. She has secured endorsements from Senator Bernie Sanders, the Justice Democrats and the Democratic Socialists of America.
Her campaign has attracted intense scrutiny for remarks made during a May interview with streamer Hasan Piker. When asked about the October 7 Hamas attack and the September 11, 2001 terrorist strikes, Kiros said, "We destabilized a lot of the Middle East that forced people to believe that another act of violence was the only response." NBC reporter Kyle Clark later probed whether the same logic applied to 9/11.
Three venues cancelled a rally that was to feature Piker, a figure criticised for anti‑Semitic comments. Kiros responded by accusing DeGette of silencing dissent with "her donor class to silence us." DeGette rejected the allegation as baseless and condemned Kiros' association with Piker, describing him as an "infamous anti‑semite".
The Denver district has not elected a Republican since the 1970s, making it virtually certain to remain in Democratic hands in the November general election.
The result was first reported by the original source.