PERSON: Melat Kiros

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Melat Asfawosen Kiros (born 1997) is an American lawyer, graduate student, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, she is the Democratic nominee for Colorado’s 1st congressional district in 2026, having defeated 15-term incumbent Diana DeGette in the primary.

Kiros supports Medicare for All, abolishing ICE, federal rent control, and a moratorium on data centers.

Kiros was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to a family of Tigrayan origin, and her parents immigrated to the United States when she was an infant. According to her campaign website, Kiros was born “weeks before” her father was picked in the United States’ Diversity Visa Lottery.

Kiros grew up in Aurora, Colorado, and attended Eaglecrest High School. She graduated from Washington College with a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics in 2018, and from Notre Dame Law School in 2022.

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