Melat Kiros elected as Colorado's first socialist to Congress

A 29-Year-Old Socialist Wins Colorado’s 1st District

At 29, Melat Kiros will take a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Colorado’s 1st District, becoming the first self-identified socialist and the first Black woman elected to Congress from Colorado, Colorado Newsline reported. Denver voters on Tuesday backed her by a wide margin, with the Associated Press calling the race at about 7:30 p.m. after Kiros led with 78% of the vote against Republican Christy Peterson at 14% and unaffiliated candidate Shimon Blau at 6%.

What changes now is who speaks for one of the most heavily Democratic districts in the country. Kiros is also the second-youngest woman elected to Congress from any state, after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who won her seat in 2018.

This is a movement and we’re just getting started. pic.twitter.com/AUHfAklxcE

— https://x.com/MelatKirosCO/status/2117814166690115612

Ending DeGette’s Run Since 1997

Kiros defeated longtime U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, who had held the seat since 1997 — four months before Kiros was born — in a June primary that ended DeGette’s tenure. In March, her supporters handed DeGette her first-ever defeat at the Denver Democratic assembly, nearly knocking the incumbent off the ballot before the primary began.

From Corporate Attorney to Barista to Congress

Born in Ethiopia, Kiros immigrated to the United States with her parents at 11 months old and was raised in Denver. After being fired from her job as a corporate attorney for writing an open letter supporting student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza in late 2023, she enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Denver and took a job as a barista before launching her challenge against DeGette in July 2025.

Democratic Socialist Melat Kiros Makes History Winning Colorado's 1st Congressional District

The campaign was powered by a small staff and a volunteer army galvanized by Kiros’ opposition to U.S. aid to Israel and her support for progressive priorities like Medicare for All. She and her backers criticized the influence of corporate and wealthy campaign spending, faulting DeGette — long considered the most left-leaning member of Colorado’s congressional delegation — for accepting corporate PAC money while failing to deliver progressive reforms.

Her general-election win in a district where two-thirds of Democrats and two-thirds of residents under age 35 hold a favorable view of socialism, according to a 2025 poll, marks the biggest victory yet for local left-wing organizations such as the Denver chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, which over the last decade has elected candidates to the Denver City Council and the state Legislature.

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Critics Challenge Her Stance on Israel

Her victory joins a nationwide wave of left-wing insurgents backed by groups like Justice Democrats and the Democratic Socialists of America. Yet her candidacy also drew fire from within her own party. Some fellow Democrats criticized her views on Israel, most notably her refusal to characterize the June 2025 firebombing attack in Boulder — which targeted a group seeking to raise awareness of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza — as an act of antisemitism.

Shortly after her primary win, Shimon Blau, a Denver doctor, launched his unaffiliated campaign for the seat, citing what he called her antisemitic rhetoric; he qualified for the ballot after collecting the required 1,500 valid petition signatures.

First ballot drop shows Melat Kiros with 78% of the vote in Colorado's First Congressional District

The Open Question in Washington

Whether Kiros can turn a grassroots primary victory into actual legislative success in Washington is unclear, as is how she will handle a Democratic caucus that includes members who opposed her during the campaign.