How did Melat Kiros pull off a stunning election upset of Rep. Diana DeGette?
The numbers show that she built a broad base of support across the city, winning precincts that covered nearly all of the city center, west Denver and north Denver. She ultimately took 53.2% of the vote, while DeGette had about 39.8% and another challenger, Wanda James, took the rest.
Kiros won precincts across most of the city. DeGette, a 29-year incumbent, retained support in the wealthier stretches of south Denver, as well as in northeast Denver.
The election brought a surge of turnout compared to recent years, when participation in Denver and beyond had lagged below normal. As of Friday afternoon, 157,231 ballots had been counted in the primary, and nearly 40% of active voters turned out.
That’s higher than 2024 and 2022, and roughly equal to the 2018 midterm elections, during President Donald Trump’s first term. (Voter turnout in 2020 was exceptionally high.)
Young people also made up a greater portion of the electorate than in the last two cycles, though it wasn’t necessarily an extraordinary leap. People 34 and younger made up about 25% of the primary electorate turnout in Denver. (Denver makes up almost the entirety of the 1st Congressional District.)
That still couldn’t match the young voters’ surge in 2020. And, as is common, turnout for young voters was relatively low. That same 34-and-under group makes up more than 38% of the voting population but, again, only a quarter of the ballots cast.
One notable point: People voted late this year. Ballots surged in on Election Day.
We also dug into how Denver voted on statewide races. Phil Weiser, who won the Democratic nomination for governor, practically ran the table in Denver. He took 66% of the vote in his race against Michael Bennet.
On the Republican side, state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer — the more moderate option — took about 51% of the Denver vote, though “high-risk humanitarian” Victor Marx found support in western Denver and parts of northeast Denver. Marx currently holds a small lead in the three-way contest statewide.
In the statewide attorney general race, Jena Griswold took 34% of the vote in Denver, though David Seligman was close behind with 29.4%. Griswold won the nomination with a much wider margin statewide in the four-way contest.
Denver’s Democrats split with statewide Democrats in one notable race. Julie Gonzales won 54.3% of the Denver vote. But it was the opposite in the statewide context, with Hickenlooper taking 53% of the vote.
Hickenlooper was previously the mayor of Denver and governor of Colorado, not to mention founder of Wynkoop Brewing, while Gonzales has represented northwest Denver as a state senator for eight years.
Editor’s note: Andy did the writing, Kevin did the crunching.