Has the socialist takeover of the Democrat Party limited only to New York, or New England? We'll find out tonight.
Either Zohran Mamdani has the longest coattails of any mayor in New York City history, or the Democrat Party has a cancer that has metastasized. After losing three challenges in House primaries to the Democratic Socialist Party in the Big Apple, some shrugged it off as a Mamdani phenomenon.
As Axios reports today, the appearance of another radical-socialist challenge to a safe Democrat incumbent in Colorado debunks that assumption. Diana DeGette may not survive a challenge from DSA-backed Milat Kiros in today’s Colorado primaries. Not even the endorsement of the Congressional Progressive Caucus has inoculated DeGette from the DSA’s attempts to poach Democrat seats:
DeGette, a lawyer and former state legislator who has represented her Denver-based House seat since 1997, is facing one of the most serious challenges of her decades-long political career.
- Despite being a Congressional Progressive Caucus member and Medicare-for-All cosponsor, DeGette has been tagged by the left as a defender of Israel and recipient of corporate PAC support.
- DeGette has been endorsed by the co-chairs of the CPC's PAC — Reps. Greg Casar (D-Texas), Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) — as well as many pro-abortion groups and other establishment-aligned progressive organizations.
Zoom in: Kiros, a 29-year-old Democratic Socialists of America member backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), was born the same year that DeGette, 68, first took office.
Who is Milat Kiros, other than the DSA’s latest Stalin-baby socialist? Three years ago, Kiros got sympathetic media coverage for her termination at a law firm after posting pro-Palestinian commentary. Kiros responded to an open letter signed by her own law firm that demanded an end to anti-Semitism on campuses in the wake of the October 7 Hamas massacres. Kiros publicly rebuked the signatories for “conflat[ing] such bigotry with the geopolitical question of Israel’s legitimacy.”
Should Kiros have been fired for that rebuttal? Count me with Eugene Volokh and David Lat in being at least skeptical about this being a point-of-view action more than a case of insubordination. Perhaps I have a more selfish reason for that sympathy, though. If her firm hadn’t fired her, Kiros might not have been recruited by the anti-Semites at the DSA to run for this office. Clearly, though, given the nature and direction of the DSA’s preferred candidates in this cycle, Kiros’ antipathy toward Israel is a feature rather than a bug. And Kiros is almost certainly not the only anti-Semitic socialist in Colorado, but maybe they would have ended up with a Graham Platner barrel-bottom option.
This primary matters because it exposes the extent to which the DSA and its allies will go to hollow out the Democrat Party. Sanders and Khanna are clearly promoting their takeover party. In this case, it seems especially perfidious, given DeGette’s solid progressive credentials and her endorsements from Pramila Jayapal and the CPC. This is not just a normal primary effort by grassroots voters to hold someone accountable for ignoring the will of the voters. DeGette isn’t a Jared Golden or John Fetterman. This is a blatant attempt to conduct a hostile takeover of the Democrat Party by revolutionary radicals.
DeGette isn't the only incumbent in tonight's races that may get the boot. Senator John Hickenlooper also faces a primary challenge from the Left, Decision Desk HQ notes, while previewing the Democrat's open gubernatorial contest:
Sen. John Hickenlooper is seeking a second term, but the 74-year old incumbent faces a challenge on his left from 43-year old progressive state Sen. Julie Gonzales. Other older incumbents have struggled to win Democratic primaries this year, and Hickenlooper has drawn criticism for skipping many Democratic Party events. Notably, he also chose not to place his candidacy before the party assembly (his campaign gathered signatures to qualify for the primary). Gonzales won 74% of the state assembly vote, leaving her as Hickenlooper’s only primary opponent.
Still, Hickenlooper is favored to hold on. He has a massive financial edge over Gonzales, having outraised her $9.9 million to $870,000, and he’s also received a bit more outside support ($510,000 to $282,000). And unlike Kiros, Gonzales has to appeal beyond just Denver and other progressive bastions to defeat Hickenlooper. But the degree to which Gonzales gains traction could also signal potential progressive strength against seemingly ensconced incumbents elsewhere.
The bigger statewide race is the Democratic primary for governor, where Sen. Michael Bennet and state Attorney General Phil Weiser are vying to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Jared Polis. In a state that Harris carried 54%-43% in 2024, this primary will almost certainly decide the state’s next governor.
Will the DSA succeed in the Rocky Mountain High state? Follow the results tonight with our partners at Decision Desk HQ, providing live results in all primary races today. Polls close at 7 pm MT/9 pm ET, although the state does a lot of its voting by mail-in ballots. Unlike in California and Mississippi, however, all ballots must be received by the time the polls close tonight, not just postmarked, so we should get results relatively quickly.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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