Socialist ousts Dem incumbent in Colorado primary
Chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports on a far-left surge consuming the Democratic Party after socialist candidate Melat Kiros ousted 14-term incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette in Denver, marking the 27th progressive primary victory this cycle, triggering sharp warnings from President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
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The far left is taking its political playbook nationwide, moving from high-profile primary wins in New York City and Colorado to a string of upcoming Democratic contests in Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin and Florida.
After far-left and socialist-aligned candidates scored ballot-box victories over establishment-backed contenders in congressional primaries in New York City and Colorado the past two weeks, the left is taking aim at the Midwest.
Hours after Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) backed challenger and first-time candidate Melat Kiros toppled 15-term Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette in Tuesday’s primary in Denver’s deep blue 1st Congressional District, former Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri pledged on social media, “On August 4th, St. Louis will do the same.”
Kiros’ victory, coupled with wins a week earlier by three far-left congressional candidates heavily supported by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, is emboldening progressives as they try to turn isolated blue-city upsets into a national pressure campaign against the Democratic Party.
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“Only socialism can solve decades of capitalist mismanagement in the US. Our newly elected leaders will fight for the working class — not for crumbs,” the DSA proclaimed in a social media post on Wednesday.
In Missouri, the DSA-backed Bush is running to win back her seat in the state’s St. Louis-anchored 1st Congressional District.
Bush, a nurse, pastor and Black Lives Matter activist, first ran against Democratic Rep. Lacy Clay in 2018 before ousting him in the 2020 Democratic primary. But two years ago, she lost renomination to St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell, who was backed by millions in outside money, including pro-Israel groups opposed to Bush’s position on the war in Gaza.
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Former Democratic Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri is running in 2026 to reclaim her old seat in the U.S. House. (Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)
Fast forward to today, and Bush and Clay are locked in an expensive and combative rematch.
The far left is also training its firepower on the crucial Great Lakes battleground of Michigan, which holds its primary on the same day as Missouri.
Abdul El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health director who unsuccessfully ran for governor eight years ago as an insurgent, is one of three major candidates trying to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, D-Fla.
Backed last year by far left champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, El-Sayed on Thursday was endorsed by progressive rockstar Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, a progressive champion, endorsed far left candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s high-profile 2026 Democratic Senate primary. (Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
“AOC has changed the trajectory of American politics and inspired a generation to believe that government really can work for working people,” El-Sayed wrote on social media. “Together, we’re proving that even in the face of unprecedented outside spending, a movement powered by the people can win.”
One week later, on Aug. 11, Wisconsin holds primaries.
Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong is on the rise among a crowded field of candidates in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
“It’s a great day to be a democratic socialist,” the DSA-aligned Hong posted on X last week after the progressive victories in New York City, in which two Democratic congressional incumbents lost renomination. “Wisconsin is next!”
A week later, the spotlight will shine on Florida, where DSA-backed Oliver Larkin is challenging two-term Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., in the state’s 25 Congressional District, which includes portions of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.
“Tonight, @MelatKirosCO, tomorrow @OliverALarkin. The movement moves from New York to Colorado to FLORIDA!,” the DSA wrote on X hours after Kiros’ victory.
Kiros, who lost her job as a lawyer in New York after writing an essay critical of Israel, was also backed by Justice Democrats, the nearly decade-old political group known for heavily supporting “Squad” members Ocasio-Cortez, and Reps. Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib as they toppled entrenched incumbents in their initial elections to Congress.
Hasan Piker, the controversial far-left streamer who attended Kiros’ primary night event in Denver, told Fox News, “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.”
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.
Longtime Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo, a veteran of progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, told Fox News 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.”
While plenty of mainstream Democrats have racked up primary victories in recent weeks, it is the far left’s wins that are grabbing the media spotlight.
And that is giving Republicans who are facing a rough political climate as they work to hold their slim House and Senate majorities, more ammunition as they portray all Democrats as radicals.
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President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned of a “communist” threat.
Vice President JD Vance argued Tuesday on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” that Democrats have “a view that the United States is an evil country that must be dismantled from the ground and then built back up. That’s communism at its core, and you see more and more momentum in that direction from the Democrat Party.”
