Socialist Primary Victor Sends A Message To Hakeem Jeffries

A far-left Democrat who won a Colorado congressional primary Tuesday is already signaling that she will not fall in line behind House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old Ph.D. student, appears poised to represent Colorado’s 1st Congressional District after defeating longtime Rep. Diana DeGette in the Democratic primary, according to Colorado Newsline.

Kiros led with 49 percent of the vote in the Denver-based district, while DeGette, who has served in Congress for three decades, had 44 percent.

The result marks another win for the party’s left wing, coming shortly after far-left Democrats scored primary victories in New York City. In Colorado’s 1st District, the Democratic primary is widely seen as the decisive contest, given the district’s strong Democratic lean.

Kiros’ path to politics has already drawn attention. She previously worked at the New York City law firm Sidley Austin but lost her job after signing an open letter that defended criticism of the Israeli government following the Hamas attack on Israel.

The letter rebuked major law firms, including her own, for treating calls to eliminate Israel as anti-Semitic. Kiros argued that firms were suppressing future lawyers who criticized Israel’s government and its legitimacy.

“By chilling future lawyers’ employment prospects for criticism of the Israeli government’s actions and its legitimacy, you are complicit in Israel’s weaponization of anti-Semitism against legitimate concerns for the right of self-determination and the livelihood of the Palestinian people,” she wrote in the letter to Sidley Austin and more than 100 other firms that had signed a statement condemning anti-Semitism.

After that, Kiros returned to Denver, where her family settled after leaving Ethiopia when she was still an infant, according to Colorado Newsline.

Her campaign drew support from several left-wing groups, including the Democratic Socialists of America and Justice Democrats. She ran against DeGette from the left, framing her campaign around working families, money in politics and frustration with Democratic incumbents.

“For decades, Democrats have failed to meaningfully deliver for working families,” Kiros said, according to Politico.