Voters in New York and Colorado Primaries Select Candidates Focused on Housing, Policing, and Foreign Policy

Democratic Socialists of America members defeated multiple Democratic incumbents in congressional primaries held in New York and Colorado last week. In New York, three DSA-supported candidates beat sitting members of Congress who had served multiple terms.

The winners include Darializa Avila Chevalier, Claire Valdez, and Brad Lander. In Colorado’s First Congressional District, Melat Kiros defeated 15-term Representative Diana DeGette. Kiros, 29, is a DSA member who has criticized companies leaving the state and described the September 11 attacks as an “inevitable” result of U.S. foreign policy.

The victories followed an organized campaign effort by the DSA that included candidate recruitment, activist mobilization, and fundraising. Observers noted that recent winners lack the individual name recognition of earlier DSA figures such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Manhattan Institute President Reihan Salam observed that the newer candidates appear smaller than the organization itself, suggesting the group now functions more like a political machine.

Rakich wrote in the New York Times that aggressive redistricting could leave only 17 competitive House districts nationwide. Progressive voters remain concentrated in dense urban areas while Republican voters are more evenly distributed across states.

The Wall Street Journal’s Matthew Continetti reported that California and New York are projected to lose six House seats after the 2030 census, while Florida and Texas are expected to gain seven.

““Thank you for not retiring Diana DeGette … and hand select[ing] your replacement, which would’ve been a cookie-cutter neoliberal faux progressive Democrat.””