Skip to main content
7 min read
● InformationalElections / Campaigns

Colorado primary election: Kiros ousts DeGette as voters seek fighters

Diana DeGette lost her Democratic primary to challenger Melat Kiros after 15 terms in Congress.

Colorado primary election: Kiros ousts DeGette as voters seek fighters
Image · Boulder Daily Camera

SOURCE CHECK

TAP FOR WHY
Host credibilityBoulder Daily CameraNOT RATED
This article1 analysis · Oct 5, 2026

Credibility rates Boulder Daily Camera, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.

Republished

Republished from The Denver Post. The relationship between the two publishers has not been determined.

The Denver Post80/100 HIGH

36 stories · 80–81 · updated Oct 6, 2026

This is The Denver Post's own score, and this article is credited to The Denver Post. The host score in the Source Check is Boulder Daily Camera's.

Boulder Daily Cameravia The Denver Post
Jul 1, 2026
tl;dr

Colorado’s Democratic primary produced a major upset as Melat Kiros defeated longtime U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, while Phil Weiser beat Sen. Michael Bennet in the governor’s race. Sen. John Hickenlooper won his nomination, though he was leading Julie Gonzales by less than 10 percentage points as of Wednesday afternoon.

Community verdict

VOTING CLOSED
How does this story look for
Diana DeGette D · CO-1
NOT RATEDCLOSED

No good or bad look here

This story reports what happened without casting DeGette in a good or bad light, so readers don’t rate it and it doesn’t count toward DeGette’s record.

● INFORMATIONAL

People in this story

SWIPE →
Diana DeGette
D · CO-1

U.S. representative who lost the Democratic primary to Melat Kiros

PRIMARY SUBJECT

Democratic nominee who defeated Diana DeGette in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District primary

Kiros's version of this story ↗
Michael F. Bennet
D · CO · SEN

Senator who lost the Democratic gubernatorial nomination to Phil Weiser

Bennet's version of this story ↗

State representative who won the Democratic primary in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District

Donald Trump
R · President of the United States

President whose administration was targeted by Kiros’s campaign proposals and Weiser’s lawsuits

John W. Hickenlooper
D · CO · SEN

Senator who secured the Democratic nomination for a second term

Republican gubernatorial candidate who was narrowly trailing Victor Marx in uncalled results

State senator who challenged John Hickenlooper for the Democratic Senate nomination

Former lawmaker who lost the Democratic primary in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District

ALSO MENTIONED  Phil Weiser, Colorado attorney general and winner of the Democratic gubernatorial primary; Chela Garcia Irlando, Candidate who defeated Andres Carrera for a state Senate seat; Dick Wadhams, Kirkmeyer supporter who argued that she could keep a general-election debate grounded in policy; Gabriel Cervantes, Candidate who won a primary challenge against Jacque Phillips; Iris Halpern, Progressive challenger who defeated state Rep. Sean Camacho; Jacque Phillips, Thornton state representative who lost a primary challenge to Gabriel Cervantes; Jamie Jackson, Democratic state representative targeted by outside groups seeking to oust her; Kenny Nguyen, Democratic state representative targeted by outside groups seeking to oust him; Michael Bloomberg, Billionaire whose donations supplied almost half of an outside group’s fundraising for Bennet; Scott Bottoms, Colorado state representative and Republican gubernatorial candidate; Sean Camacho, Colorado state representative who lost his primary to Iris Halpern; Andres Carrera, Candidate who lost to Chela Garcia Irlando in a state Senate primary; Victor Marx, Republican gubernatorial candidate who was narrowly leading Barb Kirkmeyer in uncalled results

Part of a bigger story

25 OUTLETS
Melat Kiros Defeats Diana DeGette in Colorado Democratic Primary

Outlets agree that Melat Kiros defeated longtime U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado’s Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District. Left-leaning outlets present the win as progressive momentum and voter rejection of party-establishment candidates, with some stressing Palestine or outside spending. Center outlets mostly report the upset factually and place it among progressive gains and other Colorado results. Right-leaning outlets cast it as evidence of a wider socialist shift in the Democratic Party, often as a cause for concern.

Discussion · 0

What's your take?

Loading comments…