DENVER — Melat Kiros is already planning her victory celebration on election night.

After defeating longtime incumbent U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette in the June Democratic primary, the 29-year-old democratic socialist has mostly focused her campaign on helping other candidates and supporting or opposing certain statewide ballot initiatives. In a district that has voted heavily in favor of Democrats for decades, that’s no surprise.

But not all Democrats in Denver have been able to get on board with Kiros, citing her comments around the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and her decision not to call last year’s fatal firebombing in Boulder an antisemitic attack.

Some have instead rallied their support around Dr. Shimon Blau, an independent candidate and physician who entered the race shortly after Kiros won the primary. He cited Kiros’ rhetoric as one of the main reasons he decided to run.

“I don’t think the race will be close, but I do think a combination of votes for Blau and the undervote will (be) somewhat representative of how the Jewish community in Denver is feeling,” said Scott Wasserman, a political consultant who once ran the Bell Policy Center, a liberal think tank. Wasserman said he’s planning to leave the 1st Congressional District question blank on his ballot.

As of Oct. 14, Blau had raised about $179,000 in contributions and loaned his campaign an additional $25,000, according to his most recent fundraising report filed late last week. He had nearly $60,000 on hand for the race’s final stretch. Since the primary, Kiros has raised about $208,000, with nearly $76,000 on hand in mid-October.

Most of the nearly $1.3 million that Kiros has raised overall was spent during her competitive primary against the 15-term DeGette, according to federal campaign finance filings.

While Blau, 50, once believed he would only be offering Denver voters an alternative to Kiros, he said in a recent interview that he saw a path to victory.

“Once I saw the outpouring of support very early on, I realized that if we run this campaign the right way … we can actually win this,” he said.

Kiros faced backlash in June when, during a 9News interview, she refused to call the 2025 Boulder firebombing attack antisemitic.

In June 2025, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who is now serving a life sentence, used a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails on a crowd of demonstrators while shouting “Free Palestine!” The crowd, which was gathering to raise awareness of the hostages that Hamas had kidnapped in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel, was made up mostly of Jewish people. One woman, 82-year-old Karen Diamond, died from injuries sustained in the attack.

"I don't know what was in the heart of the perpetrator," Kiros said told 9News. "All I know is he went and attacked innocent people because of what they might have believed."

Despite the blowback, Kiros has continued to not call the attack antisemitic. In an interview with The Denver Post, Kiros said she condemned antisemitic attacks, including those that Blau himself has faced online since he announced his candidacy.

"Since my initial statement on the Boulder attack, I have spoken with a diverse range of members of the Jewish community and understand the immense pain and fear the Boulder attack caused," she said in a statement. "This was a horrific and violent attack on a group of Jewish people who were peacefully protesting."

Other prominent Democrats have criticized Kiros for her June response, including the Democratic nominee for governor, Phil Weiser.

"We cannot look at that murder and say anything else happened than a hate crime. And so if someone isn't going to acknowledge that, I'm concerned about that," Weiser said.

Three progressive leaders — state Sen. Julie Gonzales, state Rep. Yara Zokaie and attorney David Seligman — told the Colorado Sun that Kiros’ response to the question was wrong. Zokaie, a Fort Collins Democrat who has endorsed Kiros, expressed disappointment and told the Sun: “The answer is obvious that the attack on Jewish people in Boulder was an antisemitic attack and a horrific act of violence that all leaders should condemn.”

Kiros has also faced criticism for past comments questioning Israel’s legitimacy as a state.

If elected, Kiros says her top priorities would be passing "Medicare for All" and universal child care, ending military aid to Israel, and abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In down-ballot issues, Kiros has supported the statewide ballot measures Amendment 87 and Proposition NN, which would raise taxes on the wealthy or redirect tax refunds, respectively, with both boosting education funding. She's opposed Amendments 81 through 86 and Propositions 132 through 136, all of which are backed by conservative groups or activists and would take on issues like transgender youth in sports and law enforcement cooperation with ICE.

"This isn't about just one election or one candidate, but a movement that we're trying to build," she said.

Blau has said Kiros’ democratic socialist beliefs offend him “as an American." He points to the Democratic Socialists of America's calls for major changes to the government, including replacing the presidency and Supreme Court with an executive and court chosen by Congress, and abolishing the police.

“They use the word 'democratic' to sort of sneak into the Democratic Party, but there’s really nothing democratic about them. I don’t want to see this implemented in our country,” he said.

Blau decided to run to give Denver “a better option that could represent everyone in the district,” he said.

Kiros said she respected Blau’s decision to run for office, adding that competitive elections are important.

“My job is to focus on what those big, bold solutions are, and Dr. Blau has his own platform — and if that resonates with voters, he’ll do what he’s got to do,” she said. “But I feel fairly confident that Denver voters believe in a progressive vision.”

Whoever wins the election will represent Colorado's 1st District, which includes all of Denver as well as Glendale and Holly Hills.

Blau is the only other candidate besides Kiros to raise more than $7,400 in the race. That's the fundraising reported by Republican nominee Christy Peterson, who wrote in a candidate questionnaire that she largely supports President Donald Trump's agenda. Two other candidates appearing on the ballot, Critter Milton of the Unity Party and Libertarian nominee Chad Humphrey, haven’t reported any fundraising.

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