Socialist Melat Kiros soundly defeated 15-term incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) last night in the Democratic Socialists of America’s first test after its New York congressional sweep last month. The socialist insurgency proved its popularity beyond Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s five boroughs.
“We will not wait to take the fight to Donald Trump and the oligarchy,” Kiros bellowed during her victory speech last night. “We will not wait to abolish ICE and pass Medicare. We will not wait to put an end to the politics of the past, to get big money out of our politics, and to reject corporate PACs and AIPAC.”
The 29-year-old insurgent’s platform reads like the standard socialist wish list: government-mandated healthcare, universal child care, an “Ultra-Millionaire Tax” on net worth above $50 million, and the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which she describes as “operating as a terror apparatus.”
DeGette assumed office in 1997, the year Kiros was born in Ethiopia. She boasts an all-time 95% score on ProgressivePunch and is tied for the ninth-most progressive member of Congress. She called to “defund and dismantle” ICE. She was also an impeachment manager after Jan. 6, 2021.
But Coloradans cared little. Kiros trounced DeGette by 10 percentage points with 81% of the votes counted. Kiros and DeGette may share similar agendas, but New York’s congressional showdown foretold DeGette’s loss.
Take Darializa Avila Chevalier’s upset against Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), who held a 99% ProgressivePunch score and introduced legislation to eliminate ICE in 2018.
Brad Lander defeated incumbent Dan Goldman, whom House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) backed. They shared similar platforms, though Goldman differed in his views on Israel. Ditto for Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and socialist Claire Valdez.
Mamdani’s stardom could have explained the socialist sweep in New York. After all, Espaillat, Goldman, and Reynoso all had establishment support.
But Kiros’s win last night suggests the truth may be simpler: Young leftists across the country are disgruntled with Democrats.
More than 65% of Democrats view socialism favorably, per a prominent Gallup poll released in September 2025. Similarly, a March Fox News poll showed that 72% of Democrats described capitalism as working “not very” well or “not at all.” Democratic voters’ disapproval of their party and growing comfort with socialism have been trends well before Mamdani’s arrival.
Still, the Democratic Socialists of America’s record so far this midterm cycle remains even: 38 wins and 38 losses. The organization has lost 10 federal races so far, with heavy losses in Illinois’s 6th and 8th Congressional Districts, which cover the western and northwestern suburbs of Chicago.
DEMOCRATS’ INTERSECTIONAL COALITION IN NAME ONLY
Mamdani distanced himself from socialist congressional races across the country in an interview with ABC News’s Jonathan Karl last weekend. But he did concede that “a democratic socialist can get elected anywhere across this country for any position,” when asked if one could occupy the White House.
During a June 25 interview at the Capitol, DeGette said, “Denver, Colorado, is not New York City.” Unfortunately for her, she was right — Tuesday’s primary in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District vindicated Mamdani’s claim. Kiros’s David vs. Goliath victory over DeGette suggests America may be witnessing the beginning of a national socialist surge.