Melat Kiros Defeats Diana DeGette in Colorado Democratic Primary, Calls for End of Genocide in Palestine

Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old former attorney and a Democratic socialist, defeated U.S. Representative Diana DeGette in Colorado’s House primary on Tuesday, June 30, in a district that covers almost all of Denver.

“WASHINGTON — The far-left wing of the United States Democratic Party continues to gain ground in the primaries for the midterm elections next November, which are held from March through September across the country, after the latest victory by its candidates in Colorado”

Diario Las Américas

L’Humanité said the result was 51% to 41% and framed Kiros as “the first Gen Z woman to sit in the United States Congress,” while France 24 described the victory as a “hard blow” to Democrats’ traditional leaders ahead of the midterm elections.

Diario Las Américas

France 24 also reported that Kiros was backed by Senator Bernie Sanders and that Sanders wrote on X to congratulate her, while The Times of Israël said Kiros used her victory speech to call for “end the genocide in Palestine.”

The Times of Israël added that Kiros’s platform includes “a total embargo on arms to Israel and the end of military subsidies to the Jewish state,” and it said she also vowed to abolish ICE and fight President Donald Trump.

L’Humanité said Kiros was born in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), grew up in Aurora near Denver, and earned a Master of Laws from the University of Notre Dame and a PhD in Public Affairs from the University of Colorado.

The Times of Israël reported that Kiros drew criticism after calling the Hamas-initiated pogrom in southern Israel on October 7, 2023 “inevitable,” and after refusing to label as antisemitic a deadly arson attack in Boulder in June 2025 against protesters demanding the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

In her victory speech, Kiros told supporters, “We will not wait any longer to end the policies of the past, drive big capital out of our politics and reject corporate PACs and AIPAC,” and she added, “And no, we will not wait any longer to end the genocide in Palestine.”

France 24

France 24 said Trump seized on the progressive surge to claim that “communists are unleashed and pose the greatest threat to the nation in its history,” while Diario Las Américas quoted Kiros saying before the elections, “I think what we are witnessing is a referendum on the party leadership's ability to fight for the policies that really matter to voters.”

Diario Las Américas also described Van Jones telling CNN that “This is a battle between the status quo and this insurgency,” and it said the far-left wing’s momentum had been building after New York victories led by Zohran Mamdani.

The Intercept quoted democratic socialist New York state Sen. Jabari Brisport saying, “People are going to keep trying to move the goalposts to pretend like this isn’t a movement sweeping the nation,” as it argued the socialist brand is spreading beyond critics’ assumptions.

The Times of Israël said Kiros’s victory put her “on the road to Congress” and described her as joining “the growing ranks of Democratic Socialists and hard-line critics of Israel,” with her campaign centered on her relationship with the United States and Israel.

“Melat Kiros defeated the outgoing Democratic Congresswoman Diana DeGette on Tuesday, June 30 (51% to 41%), who has served for thirty years in Colorado's Denver district”

L'Humanité

Diario Las Américas said the midterm elections next November are held from March through September across the country, and it described Kiros’s win as part of a broader shift in Democratic primaries that had begun in New York led by Zohran Mamdani.

L’Humanité said a week after the sweep of candidates backed by Zohran Mamdani in New York, Kiros toppled DeGette, and it added that “At 29, the candidate will be the first Gen Z woman to sit in the United States Congress if she defeats the Republican candidate in November.”

France 24 reported that Democrats need to win only a handful of seats to regain the House, making the party’s internal conflict over the left’s gains “especially delicate,” and it quoted Kurt Bardella warning, “It isn't about socialism; it is about the system.”

The Intercept said DSA-backed lawmakers have won their races since 2018, and it quoted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries arguing the socialist victories in New York were concentrated in “higher-income districts” with an “outsized focus on issues connected to the Middle East.”