Middle East Eye
Pro-Palestine immigrant ousts 30-year veteran in Colorado Democratic primary
Pro-Palestine immigrant ousts 30-year veteran in Colorado Democratic primary
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Wed, 07/01/2026 - 16:26
The upset for establishment Democrats follows a similar wave across blue states emboldened by Zohran Mamdani's win in New York City
Democratic congressional candidate Melat Kiros addresses supporters at an election-night watch party after winning the Colorado primary on 30 June 2026 in Denver, Colorado (Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images via AFP)
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Democratic Socialists in the US netted a landmark win on Tuesday after a 29-year-old Ethiopian immigrant and political newcomer unseated a member of Congress who has held that job since before she was born.
Melat Kiros, a lawyer and PhD student, mounted a stunning upset for establishment Democrats after she was declared the winner of the Democratic primary in Colorado's 1st congressional district, which includes the state capital, Denver.
Kiros' opponent, Diana DeGette, had not yet acknowledged the results of the race on either of her two X accounts by Wednesday morning, but had received the backing of Colorado's elected Democratic Party leaders in a state that has long been a deep Democratic blue.
As of 11am local time in Denver on Wednesday, just over 81 percent of the votes had been counted, but the Associated Press, which typically calls the races in the US, declared Kiros the projected winner at midnight, indicating that DeGette's numbers have no chance of catching up.
DeGette spent three decades on Capitol Hill, and according to the watchdog Aipac Tracker, has received well over $1.6m from the pro-Israel lobbying group in that time.
"If the only issue that you care about is this issue, then you should not vote for me," DeGette famously told a voter in March who confronted her about not supporting the Block the Bombs Act in Congress to limit weapons transfers to Israel.
Kiros, an outspoken critic of Israel, is now all but guaranteed that seat in the House of Representatives in the November midterm election. She joins the ranks of pro-Palestine progressives from Maine, to New York and New Jersey, and into Pennsylvania who have recently sealed Democratic primary wins that are almost certainly sending them to Washington, DC.
'I didn't flinch'
In her victory speech on Tuesday, Kiros recounted how she was fired from the multinational law firm Sidley Austin in 2023 for supporting the anti-war protests that had taken hold across US college campuses.
"When I wrote a letter defending students’ rights to protest the genocide in Gaza... my law firm told me, take it down or you’re fired," she said.
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"I didn’t flinch. I didn’t flinch because I stood by every word, and I always will. But I know that will not be the only moment where those in power will tell me to change my tune, to not rock the boat. That seems to happen a lot in Congress."
Jewish Voice for Peace, which backed Kiros' campaign, said on Wednesday that "in the final weeks, corporate dark money flooded the race to stop Melat - much of it from AIPAC, Amazon, and Lockheed Martin... and they smeared Melat as antisemitic for refusing to stay silent about Israel's genocide".
The Democratic National Committee (DNC), the official body that steers the party and sends out congratulatory press releases to winning candidates on election nights, did not acknowledge Kiros' victory until nearly 10 hours after the results were declared.
"Melat Kiros is fighting to make the American dream a reality for the hardworking people of Colorado. She is a tireless advocate within her community and has consistently stood up for her neighbors," DNC chair Ken Martin said.
"In Congress, she will be a fierce champion for expanding access to healthcare, investing in childcare, making housing more affordable, protecting workers’ rights, and ensuring corporations and the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share. The DNC is ready to work alongside her to lower costs and deliver for working families."
The DNC has come under fire for not openly acknowledging that its presidential candidate in 2024, Kamala Harris, lost the election in part due to her refusal to condemn Israel's genocide in Gaza and pressure it to end its war on the enclave.
As of 30 June, at least 73,066 Palestinians have been killed, based on deaths recorded by Gaza's health ministry.
It has also largely stood by its ageing establishment candidates, despite poll after poll showing that younger Democratic Socialists, such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, are now setting the bar for the next generation of lawmakers.
Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders, who endorsed Kiros, congratulated her on X.
"The tide is turning," he wrote. "Americans are tired of status quo politics."
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