WASHINGTON — Melat Kiros is a 28-year-old attorney, PhD student, and activist mounting a high-profile primary challenge against 15-term incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District. A Tigrayan-American who immigrated to Denver as an infant, Kiros represents a growing wave of “insurgent” progressives seeking to replace establishment figures with a new generation of leadership.
Quick Facts
Current Role: Barista, PhD student (Public Affairs, CU Denver), and political candidate.
Legal Background: Former Securities Regulatory Associate at Sidley Austin; J.D. from Notre Dame Law School (2022).
Platform Pillars: Abolish ICE, Medicare for All, Green New Deal, and an arms embargo on Israel.
Key Support: Endorsed by Justice Democrats, Sunrise Movement, and Peace Action.
Career Turning Point
Kiros gained national attention in late 2023 after being fired from her position at the law firm Sidley Austin. The termination followed her refusal to take down a viral Medium post defending student protesters and criticizing U.S. and Israeli policies in Gaza.
Kiros has framed this experience as a catalyst for her run, drawing parallels between the conflict in Gaza and the genocide in Tigray, Ethiopia, which her family fled. Her campaign positions her not just as a policy critic, but as a victim of the “coercive” professional environments that silence dissent on human rights.
The “Abolish ICE” & Migrant Advocacy Stance
As a migrant candidate, Kiros’ platform on immigration is among the most radical in the 2026 cycle. She explicitly calls for abolishing ICE, arguing that the current enforcement-heavy system is inherently dehumanizing. Her advocacy focuses on:
Humane Alternatives: Replacing enforcement with systems that honor the “sacrifices” of immigrant families.
Ending “Blank Checks”: Reallocating military and enforcement funding toward domestic social safety nets like housing and healthcare.
Intersectional Justice: Linking the plight of refugees globally (from Tigray to Palestine) to the treatment of migrants at the U.S. border.
The 2026 Primary Landscape
Kiros faces a formidable “dean” of the Colorado delegation. Rep. DeGette has held the seat since 1997—before Kiros was born.
Fundraising: As of late 2025, Kiros had raised approximately $125,535, a notable sum for a first-time grassroots challenger, though she trails DeGette’s substantial war chest.
District Profile: CO-01 is a D+29 stronghold. The primary on June 30, 2026, is widely seen as the real contest, serving as a litmus test for whether Denver’s urban electorate is ready to trade institutional seniority for the structural reform Kiros promises.
Reporter’s Note: Kiros is part of a slim demographic in the 119th Congress cycle; currently, only about 4% of Congress members are foreign-born, while roughly 15% are immigrants or children of immigrants. Her victory would mark a historic breakthrough for the Horn of Africa diaspora in federal politics.
