Melat Kiros
Won the June 30, 2026 Democratic primary, defeating incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette
Melat Kiros is a Denver attorney who defeated incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette in the Democratic primary for Colorado's 1st Congressional District. She immigrated to the U.S. from Tigray, Ethiopia in 1998.[2][3]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
Positions on the issues
- SupportsExpand public health coverage
Campaign website says she will always stand for Medicare for All and describes health care access as directly linked to life expectancy and economic outcomes.[3]
- SupportsUniversal, publicly funded child care
Says she will always stand for universal childcare as part of putting working families first.[3]
- OpposesContinue U.S. military aid to Israel
Campaign website calls for an arms embargo and says tax dollars should not support what she describes as a genocide, opposing continued unconditional military aid.[3]
In their words — priorities
- Campaign finance and lobbying reform, plus congressional term limits, to reduce the influence of money in politics.[3]
- Expanding voting rights and consolidating elections into a single day with a shorter election cycle.[3]
- Codifying access to housing, health care, nutritious food and public education as basic needs for every American.[3]
Background
- Immigrated to Denver, Colorado, from Tigray, Ethiopia, in 1998 with her family.[3]
- Earned bachelor's degrees in Political Science and Economics from Washington College (2018) and a law degree from the University of Notre Dame (2022).[2][3]
- Career experience includes working as a lawyer and, earlier, as a barista.[2][3]
Campaign money
Raised $1.1M · spent $965K · $126K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗