Colorado Democrats shift left after Kiros wins Denver-area primary

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Colorado Democrats shift left

Highlights

Kiros wins Colorado's first congressional district Democratic primary with 49.3 percent to DeGette's 43.5 percent, unseating an incumbent of nearly 30 years.
Progressives backed by figures such as Bernie Sanders and Justice Democrats strengthen influence with primary wins in Colorado and New York City a week apart.
Centrist Democrats express concern that the rise of Democratic Socialist candidates like Kiros could weaken the party's prospects in swing districts before November midterms.

Primary upset reshapes Colorado Democratic race

As first reported by Financial Times, Kiros wins the Democratic primary in Colorado's first congressional district with 49.3 percent of the vote, ahead of DeGette on 43.5 percent, with 84 percent of votes counted, according to AP. The district covers most of the Denver area, and the result marks a significant defeat for an incumbent who has represented the seat in Congress for nearly three decades.

Kiros, who was born in 1997, the same year DeGette was sworn into Congress, has support from prominent progressives including Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Ro Khanna. She is also backed by Justice Democrats, the group known for helping Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reach Congress in 2018.

The result follows another set of wins for the left a week earlier, when three congressional candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani swept their Democratic primaries and unseated two sitting lawmakers. Progressive groups say the latest victories show voters want a more confrontational Democratic Party focused on economic inequality and political reform.

Midterm risks grow for party leadership

The outcome is intensifying debate inside the Democratic Party over its direction before control of both chambers of Congress is contested in November. Centrist Democrats argue that elevating Democratic Socialist candidates such as Kiros could weaken the party's appeal in competitive states and swing districts that are expected to decide the midterms.

Kiros previously drew national attention in 2023 when she was fired by Sidley Austin after criticizing law firms' responses to campus protests following Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel. Republicans are already using such victories to argue that Democratic Socialist candidates reflect the wider party, with U.S. President Donald Trump last week calling them "hard core, godless Communists" on Truth Social.

Elsewhere in Colorado, progressive candidate Manny Rutinel also wins his primary in the state's eighth congressional district and is set to face Republican incumbent Gabe Evans in November. But left-backed candidates do not prevail across the board, as Democratic Senator John Hickenlooper easily defeats a challenge from state Senator Julie Gonzales, while Senator Michael Bennet loses a separate primary bid for the party's nomination for governor to Colorado Attorney-General Phil Weiser.

Our earlier coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court’s end-of-term rulings examined how the justices are recalibrating the balance of power between the White House, Congress, and the courts during Donald Trump’s second term. We noted that the court blocked several high-profile pushes on issues like birthright citizenship, tariffs, and the attempted removal of a Federal Reserve governor, while still expanding presidential authority in other areas—an institutional backdrop to the political battles now playing out in Democratic primaries.

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