Democratic socialist unseats DeGette as Colorado primaries deliver upsets
Colorado Democrats delivered two notable upsets in their June 30 primaries. In the Denver-based House seat, democratic socialist Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old former lawyer, defeated Rep. Diana DeGette , ending a 29-year tenure. In the governor’s race, state Attorney General Phil Weiser unexpectedly beat three-term Sen. Michael Bennet for the Democratic nomination.
The DeGette loss marks the third major win for the party’s left flank in a competitive race this cycle , following insurgent victories elsewhere, and signals continued grassroots discontent with long-serving incumbents — Kiros ran in part on criticism of Democratic support for Israel. In races where the establishment held, Sen. John Hickenlooper turned back a progressive challenger, and on the Republican side Rep. Jeff Hurd won renomination even after Trump withdrew his endorsement over tariff policy.
Colorado’s safely Democratic Denver seat means Kiros is the strong favorite in November, so the primary effectively decides the race. The pattern — younger, further-left challengers ousting entrenched incumbents — is reshaping the party’s House delegation ahead of the midterms.