Far-left momentum builds as Democratic Socialists expand beyond New York

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are taking their political playbook nationwide. 

One week after DSA-aligned candidates scored ballot-box victories over establishment-backed contenders in two congressional primaries in New York City that grabbed outsized national attention, the group scored another major upset in a deep-blue U.S. House district in Denver, Colorado.

Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette, who was first elected to Congress in 1996 and took office in 1997, was defeated by DSA-backed Melat Kiros, a first-time candidate and former attorney who is 29 years old.

Kiros’ victory comes a week after Darializa Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old progressive community organizer in New York City, ousted incumbent Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, another DSA-aligned contender, won a congressional primary to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez.

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The victories by Chevalier and Valdez, who were backed by socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, coupled with the win this week by Kiros, are further emboldening the progressive left as it takes on the center-left establishment in a high-stakes battle for the future of the Democratic Party. 

Hasan Piker, the controversial, far-left streamer, at the Kiros primary night event in Denver, told , “I think progressive politics, left populism, a politics that centers the needs of the working class, can work in every district, in every state. That’s why I kept saying over and over again, it’s coming to a city near you.” 

The latest DSA primary victory came in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District, a Democrat-dominated seat anchored in Denver that then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried by nearly 56 points in the 2024 election.

“Another Democratic Socialist is going to Congress!,” the DSA touted in a social media post. “Congresswoman Kiros will take the fight for a better world to D.C: to Abolish ICE, free Palestine, and win Universal Childcare and Medicare for All.” 

Kiros, who lost her job as a lawyer in New York after writing an essay critical of Israel, was also supported by Justice Democrats, the nearly decade-old political group known for heavily supporting “Squad” members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib as they toppled entrenched incumbents in their initial elections to Congress. 

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From left, Wanda James, Diana DeGette and Melat Kiros participate in a League of Women Voters Congressional District 1 candidate forum at Montview Presbyterian Church on May 28, 2026, in Denver, Colorado (Photo by RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

University of Colorado regent Wanda James, who jumped into the Democratic congressional primary in April and was described as a spoiler, finished third, in single digits. 

Progressives also scored an impressive victory in the neighboring 8th Congressional District, a crucial swing seat which stretches along the I-25 corridor north of Denver. 

State Rep. Manny Rutinel tallied a convincing double-digit victory over former state Rep. Shannon Bird, a more moderate candidate. Rutinel will now take on Republican Rep. Gabe Evans, who flipped the seat in the 2024 cycle. 

The race is considered one of two or three dozen that will determine if the GOP holds onto its razor-thin House majority in the midterms. 

Immigration was a top issue in the Democratic primary in a district where roughly 40% of the population is Latino. Rutinel criticized Bird for a vote she cast last year opposing a measure limiting cooperation between local and state law enforcement and ICE. And Rutinel was boosted by big spending from allies, including prominent Latino groups. 

State Rep. Manny Rutinel won the Democratic primary in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

While Rutinel has tempered his previous support for top progressive issues, including Medicare for All and opposition to fracking, Republicans viewed him as the easier general election challenger than Bird. During the primary campaign, the right spotlighted pictures of him rallying alongside Mamdani.

“Democrats have chosen a far-left, radical socialist, Mamdani-wanna-be extremist — someone who supports eliminating oil and gas, defunding law enforcement, calling farmers and ranchers horrific, and threatening the industries that power our economy,” Evans charged in a statement. 

Another primary showdown highlighting the split between progressives and moderates, as well as the party’s generational divide, was the Senate nomination battle between incumbent Sen. John Hickenlooper, 74, and former state Sen. Julie Gonzales, a 43-year-old progressive. 

Hickenlooper, a former Denver mayor and two-term governor, saw his once-large advantage over Gonzales, a one-time DSA member, narrow in the weeks ahead of the primary. 

Hickenlooper prevailed and will now be the clear favorite in the general election against Republican state Sen. Mark Baisley, who was unopposed in his primary. 

Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado won renomination in Tuesday’s Democratic Senate primary. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

But Gonzales saw a silver lining in defeat, writing in a statement, “My heart is full, knowing that we’ve put the Democratic establishment on notice: keep taking folks like us for granted at your own peril.” 

Meanwhile, state Attorney General Phil Weiser topped U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet in the expensive and combustible Democratic gubernatorial primary. 

Weiser, who ran to Bennet’s left on certain issues, closed the gap with the senator as he spotlighted his efforts to take on President Donald Trump, including filing or joining dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration as attorney general.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser defeated U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

Longtime Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo, a veteran of progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, told Digital that “it is undeniable that progressives have built a coalition and have a message that can serve to buoy a candidate when they are an acceptable alternative to the status quo.” 

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While plenty of mainstream Democrats have racked up primary victories in recent weeks, it is the far-left that’s grabbing the media spotlight. And that’s giving Republicans more ammunition as they portray all Democrats as radicals. 

“The socialist takeover of the Democrat Party is no longer confined to deep-blue strongholds. The radicals are taking over battleground districts, putting must-win seats out of reach for Democrats and sinking their chances of flipping the House,” NRCC Spokesman Mike Marinella said as he pointed to Rutinel’s victory.

 ‘ Olivia Palombo and Matthew Donnell contributed to this report