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

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is taking its political tactics across the country.

A week after pro-DSA candidates won at the ballot box against establishment-backed candidates in two congressional primaries in New York City, the group suffered another major defeat in the deep-blue U.S. House district of Denver, Colorado.

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

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

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The victories of Chevalier and Valdez, backed by socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and this week’s victory for Cyrus further embolden the progressive left as it battles the center-left establishment in a battle that holds great stakes for the future of the Democratic Party.

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

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

DSA said in its social media post: “Another Democratic Socialist is going to Congress!” shouted the slogan. “Congressman Kiros will bring the fight for a better world to DC: abolishing ICE, liberating Palestine, and winning Universal Child Care and Medicare for All.”

Kiros, who lost his job as a lawyer in New York after writing an op-ed critical of Israel, was also endorsed by the Justice Democrats, the nearly decade-old political group known for heavily backing “Squad” members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib as they unseated entrenched incumbents in their first runs for Congress.

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

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

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

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

This race is considered one of two or three dozen that will determine whether the GOP maintains its House majority in the midterm elections.

In a region where nearly 40% of the population is Latino, immigration was a top issue in the Democratic primary. Routine criticized Bird for a vote last year opposing a measure that limited cooperation between local and state law enforcement and ICE. And Routine was supported by huge spending from allies, including leading Latin groups.

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

While Routine had softened his previous support for leading progressive issues, including Medicare for All and opposition to fracking, Republicans viewed him as an easier general election opponent than Bird. During the primary campaign, photos on the right noted him rallying with Mamdani.

“Democrats elected a far-left, radical socialist, extremist who wanted Mamdani; someone who supports eliminating oil and gas, defunding law enforcement, calls farmers and ranchers scary, and threatens the industries that power our economy,” Evans said in a statement.

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

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

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

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

But Gonzales saw a silver lining in the defeat, writing in a statement: “My heart is full knowing that we consider the democratic order: Continue to underestimate people like us at our peril.”

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

Weiser, who has run to Bennet’s left on some issues, has narrowed the gap with the senator by highlighting his efforts to defeat 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 nomination for governor. (Hyoung Chang/Denver Post)

Progressive champion Sen. “There’s no denying that progressives have a message that can serve to galvanize a candidate when they build a coalition and are an acceptable alternative to the status quo,” longtime Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo, a veteran of Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, told Fox News Digital.

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While many mainstream Democrats have scored primary victories in recent weeks, it is the far left that has captured the media’s attention. This gives more ammunition to Republicans who portray all Democrats as radicals.

“The Democratic Party takeover by socialists is no longer limited to deep blue bastions. Radicals are seizing battleground districts, putting must-win seats out of Democrats’ reach and blowing their chances of flipping the House,” NRCC Spokesman Mike Marinella said in pointing to Routine’s victory. he said.

Fox News’ Olivia Palombo and Matthew Donnell contributed to this report