Progressives in Colorado scored a number of key victories Tuesday night, including Democratic Socialists of America-aligned candidate Melat Kiros’ defeat of Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) in the state’s 1st Congressional District.

The Colorado results suggest that, far from being contained to a few scattered congressional districts in New York City, the momentum for far-left, anti-Israel candidates is only growing within the Democratic Party, especially within urban population centers. 

Kiros, a 29-year-old doctoral student, campaigned on her hostility to Israel and faced scrutiny when she declined to call the firebombing attack on a hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., antisemitic. DeGette, despite a long-standing progressive record in Congress, struggled to satisfy a critical mass of Democratic voters who preferred a more radical choice, especially when it came to opposing Israel.

Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) survived a scare from a little-known socialist challenger, state Sen. Julie Gonzales, but only won renomination with less than 60% of the Democratic vote. Even in the vote-rich Denver suburbs, the far-left challenger came within striking distance of the state’s well-known senator and former governor.

Former state Rep. Shannon Bird, a moderate championed by Democratic Majority for Israel, lost badly to state Rep. Manny Rutinel for the Democratic nomination in Colorado’s swing 8th District, currently held by Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO). With most votes counted, Rutinel holds a 28-point lead over Bird, 62-34%.

As an undergraduate at the University of Florida, Rutinel attended a demonstration in 2014 that was co-organized by Students for Justice in Palestine, the extreme anti-Israel group that has expressed alignment with Hamas. A Rutinel spokesperson told JI that Rutinel did not have any affiliation with SJP and said the demonstration was focused on police brutality in the U.S. 

In the state’s gubernatorial primary, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a traditional progressive who campaigned on his efforts suing the Trump administration, comfortably defeated Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), a leading moderate on Capitol Hill whose Washington ties proved to be a vulnerability with the anti-establishment Democratic electorate. With most votes tallied, Weiser leads Bennet by a 10-point margin, 55-45%.

Weiser, who is Jewish, was opposed by the Denver chapter of the DSA because of his support for Israel. The Republican primary was still too close to call, with state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer holding a narrow lead.