It may not qualify as an epidemic, but there is a fever this electoral season that is sending a lot of incumbents, if not to bed, into early and unplanned retirement. That certainly was the case in Colorado when fifteen-term Democratic Congresswoman Diana DeGette lost her bid for a sixteenth term.
DeGette, thought to be unbeatable in a comfortably blue First Congressional District—essentially Denver—unbelievably, at least to the ‘experts,’ lost to a self-described Democratic Socialist a Ph. D. student who had never held elective office. But perhaps the veteran Congresswoman’s loss was not as much an anomaly as initially thought.
Melat Kiros, along with two other Democratic Socialists, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier—both New Yorkers—won their primaries. While DeGette had campaigned on her being a safe bet, experienced and knowledgeable in the ways of Congress, voters were in no mood. In an earlier New York vote, the outsider and another Democratic Socialist—Zohran Mamdani—won as New York City’s mayor.
But while DeGette will be leaving Congress, she will also be leaving a distinguished mark on not only the district she represented but on the entire state and country. The former state legislator, attorney and self-described Democratic progressive, has her fingerprints on legislation that has touched millions.
DeGette’s seniority in the House of Representatives has given her prominent seats on a number of important committees and she has used her position judiciously. One of her most significant roles in Congress was sitting on the 2019 House impeachment committee hearings of President Trump who was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
DeGette also had her signature on many pieces of significant legislation, from health care to public safety to embryonic stem cell research. She was also a sure bet on women’s health issues, most especially her stalwart stance on abortion. She was co-chair of the House’s Pro-Choice Caucus. Its primary aim was to decrease the number of unintended pregnancies, abortions and sexually transmitted diseases through better women’s healthcare. Because of her work she received a 100 percent approval from Planned Parenthood.
DeGette also dedicated a lot of time and energy working on diabetes legislation. She was co-chair of the Congressional Diabetes Caucus which was one of the largest caucuses in Congress with more than 300 members. DeGette sponsored or co-sponsored legislation making insulin more affordable, creating programs on diabetes prevention and on securing more funding for diabetes research. She was tireless working to fund more research on juvenile diabetes and Native American diabetes prevention and treatment.
While diabetes is one of the country’s most pressing healthcare issues, affecting young and old and crossing all income lines and ethnicities, it was also a disease that was close to home for DeGette. Her daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age four.
Two of the nation’s bloodiest incidents of gun violence occurred in Colorado and moved DeGette to work tirelessly on gun control. The first was the 1999 Columbine High School shootings in which two teenage students opened fire shooting and killing a dozen students, one teacher and the two students themselves, who died by suicide. The other was the Aurora theater shooting in which a single gunman opened fire at a midnight showing in 2012. Twelve people were killed and 70 were injured.
Though DeGette will long be known as one of Colorado’s longest serving members of Congress, before that she served three terms in the Colorado State Legislature. There, as assistant minority leader, she authored legislation that guaranteed women free and unobstructed entry to abortion clinics and other medical care clinics. Other states have since copied it and it is today known as Bubble Bill legislation.
While DeGette may have had her detractors, including many in her own party, that may not have the reason for her recent defeat. In Colorado, like examples in New York where a Democratic Socialist now leads the country’s largest city, it may have been nothing more than incumbent fever. Voters were also willing to overlook some DSA members strident opposition to Israel. Kiros falls under that rubric.
In Denver, as safe as the 1st Congressional District is, the 29-year-old Kiros will almost certainly win in November. It is just one more indicator that being anti-Israel has lost a bit of juice. DeGette was also one of Israel’s strongest supporters of in Congress.
Though DeGette’s 1st Congressional District almost guaranteed a win every two years, the arc had changed. But it will not be DeGette’s defeat that will mark her legacy. For fifteen consecutive campaigns, her voters were loyal to her and the score sheet showed by returning her to Congress each time, that she was loyal to them.
Diana DeGette, thank you for your commitment to Colorado!
