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Kiros defeats DeGette in Colorado primary, sparks Jewish backlash

8/1/2026

Summary

Story summary

Democratic Socialist Melat Kiros defeated Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado’s 1st District primary in June 2026.
Jewish leaders, including Rabbi Menachem Lehrfield, and Attorney General Phil Weiser said Kiros’s comments calling the Oct. 7 attacks “inevitable” and not labeling a June 2025 Boulder fire-bombing antisemitic heightened fear and constituted a clear anti-Jewish act.
Accountant Christy Peterson will face Kiros in the Nov. 3 general election in a district that gave Kamala Harris 77 percent in 2024.

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Story summary

Democratic Socialist Melat Kiros defeated Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado’s 1st District primary in June 2026.
Jewish leaders, including Rabbi Menachem Lehrfield, and Attorney General Phil Weiser said Kiros’s comments calling the Oct. 7 attacks “inevitable” and not labeling a June 2025 Boulder fire-bombing antisemitic heightened fear and constituted a clear anti-Jewish act.
Accountant Christy Peterson will face Kiros in the Nov. 3 general election in a district that gave Kamala Harris 77 percent in 2024.