The anti-establishment wave surging through the Democratic Party reached Colorado on Tuesday, when democratic socialist Melat Kiros dislodged 15-term Rep. Diana DeGette, and state Attorney General Phil Weiser thwarted Sen. Michael Bennet’s quest to become governor.
In the Denver-anchored 1st District, Kiros, a lawyer and doctoral student, was leading DeGette, 51 percent to 42 percent just after midnight Wednesday, when The Associated Press called the race. University of Colorado Regent Wanda James trailed with 7 percent.
Kiros’ win marks another victory for the progressive group Justice Democrats and the Democratic Socialists of America, which backed two candidates who ousted a pair of House members from New York last week.
Colorado was also the latest testing ground for many of the themes roiling Democratic politics this year, including debates over age and the advantages of incumbency, whether the U.S. should curtail or end military support for Israel, and questions of how aggressively the party ought to push back against President Donald Trump’s agenda.
“Denver voters of all ages, of all races, of all religions sent a clear message: We will not wait,’’ Kiros told supporters in Denver after she was declared the winner. “We will not wait to take the fight to Donald Trump and the oligarchy, we will not wait to abolish ICE and pass ‘Medicare for All.’ … And no, we will not wait to end the genocide in Palestine.”
