Colorado Sun writer debunks democratic socialist takeover of state party

Melat Kiros just took down a 15-term incumbent in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District, and the immediate reaction from the base is that the Democratic Party is undergoing a radical ideological shift. To hear the headlines, you’d think we were witnessing the rise of democratic socialism in the Rockies.

Mike Littwin, writing in the Colorado Sun, says to look closer. The "commies" aren’t coming, and they aren’t taking over the state party. What’s actually happening is a civil war between progressives and moderates that mirrors trends in New York City, not a total overthrow of the establishment.

"Despite what you may have heard, the commies are not coming to Colorado," Littwin wrote in his Sunday column. "I promise. They’re not going to take over the state Democratic Party, either."

The distinction matters for locals watching their party structure. Kiros, a self-described democratic socialist, defeated Diana DeGette, but her ideology aligns with the Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Elizabeth Warren wing of the party. They are young, anti-establishment, and focused on expanding the safety net. They are not the original socialists who advocated for government control of the means of production.

"Democratic socialists are on the left wing of the Democratic Party — the Bernie Sanders, AOC, Elizabeth Warren wing," Littwin noted. "And they tend to be young, aggressively anti-establishment, very much for real expansion of America’s shrinking safety net and very much opposed to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. But still Democrats."

The victory isn't just about Kiros. It’s part of a broader pattern of upset victories that suggest the party is consolidating around a specific type of challenger: one who is ideologically distinct from the old guard but institutionally loyal.

Littwin pointed to the "Mamdani coalition victories in New York" as evidence of this emerging dynamic. The narrative of a radical leftist takeover is overstated. The reality is more nuanced: the party is fracturing along lines of ideology and generation, not dissolving into chaos.

This matters for the Western Slope because DeGette’s loss signals a shift in how federal representatives will be chosen. The new breed of Democrat is less concerned with maintaining the status quo and more focused on specific policy expansions and foreign policy critiques.

"The results may be both more and less surprising than you might have imagined," Littwin wrote.

The math holds up. While the primary was a nail-biter, the outcome reinforces the idea that the Democratic base is energized by candidates who challenge the establishment from within, rather than those who seek to burn it down.

To hear them tell it, the era of the moderate incumbent is ending. But the era of the radical socialist has not yet begun. The party is simply getting younger, angrier, and more focused on the safety net.

"We saw evidence with the Mamdani coalition victories in New York," Littwin said.