Progressive Surge Shows Its Reach and Its Limits in Colorado

By

Ed Kilgore,

political columnist for Intelligencer since 2015

Melat Kiros wins in Denver.

Last month, there was immense excitement on the left when outspoken progressives (two of them members of the Democratic Socialists of America) won three congressional primaries and a host of down-ballot races in New York. Losers included two entrenched incumbents, one of them the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and their backers, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and AIPAC-aligned donors. While some activists immediately leaped to predictions that the uprising would go national, others noted New York’s unique political culture and emphasized the local influence of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is a national celebrity but not yet a national power broker.