Candidate Q&A: Colorado’s 1st Congressional District

Coloradans will vote in primary elections June 30 to determine which candidates will represent their party in the general election in November.

The elections cover Colorado’s four statewide constitutional offices, one U.S. Senate seat, all eight of the state’s congressional districts, state legislative districts and other races. Colorado Newsline sent questionnaires to candidates in contested primary races and is publishing responses as part of its voter guide to help Coloradans make informed choices.

Colorado’s 1st Congressional District is represented by Diana DeGette, the state’s longest-serving member of Congress. DeGette, who is running for reelection, faces two Democratic opponents in the primary, Melat Kiros, a first-time candidate, and Wanda James, a regent for the University of Colorado. Republican Christy Peterson is running unopposed in the GOP primary.

The 1st District covers Denver.

Ballots were scheduled to be mailed to all registered voters in Colorado starting June 8.

Voters can contact their county clerk if they have not received their ballot or check the online BallotTrax system. They can also visit the secretary of state’s website to make a plan to vote in person ahead of or on Election Day. Ballots need to be received by the county clerk by 7 p.m. on that day, so voters should mail their ballot at least eight days ahead of time or drop it off in person.

Candidate Wanda James did not return a questionnaire.

Colorado’s 1st Congressional District, Democrats

Melat Kiros

Age: 28

City of residence: Denver

Occupation: Ph.D. student

Diana DeGette

Age: 68

City of residence: Denver

Occupation: U.S. representative

Wanda James

Age: Unavailable

City of residence: Denver

Occupation: University of Colorado regent

What do residents in your district say is the biggest issue, and how will you work to address it?

KIROS: Affordability. That is what I hear at every door, at every coffee shop counter, on every block I have knocked in this district. Denverites are working harder than ever and falling further behind, and they are not getting a real answer from the people who already represent them in Washington. I am a Ph.D. student. I work as a barista. I rent. I have done the math on whether I can afford a doctor’s visit. I am fighting for working people so that they can breathe again. That means massive federal investment in public and social housing, especially in the Denver neighborhoods that are being gentrified out of existence. Raising the federal minimum wage to at least $20 an hour and indexing it to inflation. Passing Medicare for All so that a medical emergency does not become a financial one. Breaking up the corporate consolidation that has let landlords, grocery chains, and pharmacy middlemen jack up prices on captive customers. And it means ending the corporate PAC stranglehold on Congress that has let this crisis fester for 30 years. I’m not taking corporate PAC money, and that independence is what makes it possible to actually fight for working people.

DEGETTE: Far and away it’s Donald Trump. Denverites are alarmed by the damage this administration is doing every day to our country, our democracy, and our economy. In Congress, standing up to Trump is job number one, and I’m focused on doing exactly that — defending democracy, protecting abortion rights and contraceptive access, and fighting back against the lawless ICE raids tearing families apart. People also know that the necessities of life just cost too much. Rent, groceries, prescriptions, childcare. Trump’s chaos is making it worse, not better. That is why I am fighting to pass Medicare for All to drive down healthcare costs, to build more affordable housing in Denver, and lower the cost of everyday goods families rely on. 

What is your reaction to how Congress recently has stood by as President Donald Trump claimed powers that traditionally belonged to the legislative branch, such as those related to war, government spending and tariffs?

KIROS: It is a dereliction of duty, and it has to stop. Congress has Article I powers for a reason. The Founders did not give the power to declare war, the power of the purse, and the power to set tariffs to the executive branch because they understood what happens when one person makes those decisions alone. Trump is testing how far he can go, and the answer he keeps getting from Congress is: further. That is on the members of Congress in both parties who have decided that holding the line is too hard, too risky, or inconvenient. In Congress, I will vote to reclaim Article I authority by strengthening the Impoundment Control Act so a president cannot withhold money Congress has already appropriated. I would vote to repeal the open-ended Authorizations for Use of Military Force that successive administrations have stretched into a blank check for forever wars. I’d push Congress to claw back the executive’s unilateral tariff authority and force trade policy back into the legislative process. And I wouldn’t be afraid to use every oversight tool Congress has, subpoenas, investigations, hearings, or the appropriations process, to hold this administration accountable.

DEGETTE: Trump is a lawless president, and Republicans in Congress are only enabling his worst abuses. That’s why I’m fighting to end his illegal and unconstitutional war in Iran, fight back against his senseless cuts to federal programs here in Colorado, and end his illegal tariffs that are driving costs higher for working families. As the co-chair of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus, I’m also leading the fight in Congress to defend access to abortion, restore the protections of Roe v. Wade, and end the war on contraception. After the January 6 attack on the Capitol, I served as an impeachment manager to hold Trump accountable, and I am ready to do it again if that is what it takes. I’ve learned that the only thing a bully respects is when you fight back, and that is what I will keep doing for Denverites.

Describe your approach to citizen engagement, such as whether you will appear at in-person town hall meetings and answer unscreened questions from residents?

KIROS: Yes. People should not need a Rolodex to talk to their representative. I will hold in-person town halls, with unscreened questions in every part of this district. Constituents in CO-01 have gone years without a real, open town hall from their member of Congress. People deserve a member who will stand in a room, take whatever question comes, and answer it, even when the question is hard, even when the room is angry, even when the answer is one they did not want to hear. That is the job. I will also hold tele-town halls for constituents who cannot attend in person, regular, walk-in office hours at coffee shops, libraries, and community centers, so that engagement is not just a once-in-a-while event, and meet regularly with the labor, immigrant, faith, tenant, and student organizations actually doing the work on the ground in Denver. 

DEGETTE: The best part of this job is listening to Denverites and bringing what I hear back to my work in Congress. I hold community meetings and events across the district year-round, often several times a week. I also believe in always debating my opponents. That’s why in this primary race; I have called for two public debates so voters can hear directly from the candidates about where we stand and what we will do. Denver deserves nothing less. I love this city, and Denver knows I will always fight for our values and our families.

How will you respond to Trump administration actions, such as the withholding of federal disaster assistance, that appear to punish Colorado over political disagreements?

KIROS: This administration is using the federal budget as a weapon against states that refuse to do its bidding. Withholding disaster aid, freezing transportation dollars, cutting off education and healthcare funding, it’s political retaliation, and illegal. The Impoundment Control Act exists for exactly this reason: a president does not get to override Congress because he is angry at a governor or a senator. In Congress, I will co-sponsor and fight for legislation that closes every loophole the administration has used to withhold appropriated funds, and that imposes real consequences on officials who carry out illegal impoundments. I would also use the appropriations process itself, including the willingness to vote no on budgets that legitimize political retaliation. Bipartisan budget deals are not worth the paper they are printed on if the executive branch can just ignore them the next day. Finally, I would support Colorado’s attorney general and every state attorney general going to court to force these dollars loose. Colorado is being targeted because Colorado is doing the right thing on immigration, on reproductive rights, on climate, and on voting access. The answer is not to capitulate.

DEGETTE: I fight back, because that is the only thing this administration responds to. Colorado was the first state in 35 years to be denied a major disaster declaration, and Trump is still sitting on federal childcare and food aid that Coloradans are entitled to. That’s wrong. As a member of the House Litigation Task Force, I’ve demanded the administration approve Colorado’s disaster appeal immediately. Federal funds are not the president’s personal piggy bank. Congress appropriated this money. Colorado families paid in. When Trump withholds disaster relief, nutrition assistance, or childcare funding to punish a blue state, real people pay the price — the family whose home burned, the parents who can’t afford daycare, the child who depends on school meals to stay healthy. Those are the people I’m fighting for whenever I stand up to Trump.

What, if anything, must Congress do to ensure the security of elections?

KIROS: First, pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Restoring the preclearance protections that the Supreme Court gutted in Shelby County is the single most important thing Congress can do to protect the integrity of American elections. Second, defeat the SAVE Act. Requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register would disenfranchise tens of millions of eligible Americans, disproportionately young voters, voters of color, married women whose names do not match their birth certificates, and naturalized citizens. Third, set a national floor for the basics that work. Automatic voter registration. Same-day registration. Universal mail-in voting modeled on what Colorado has run successfully for over a decade. Paper ballots and risk-limiting audits in every federal election. Expanded early voting. Felony enfranchisement on completion of sentence. Fourth, fund the unsexy infrastructure. Election officials in this country are underpaid, understaffed, and under attack, including from members of Congress. Federal funding for cybersecurity, for protection of election workers from harassment and threats, and for modernization of voting equipment is a national security investment. An election is only as secure as the public’s trust in the system, and that trust collapses when voters watch billionaires and corporate PACs buy outcomes in plain sight.

DEGETTE: Trump is coming after our elections, and we cannot let him. He has taken a sledgehammer to voting rights, not just to entrench his own power but to do it at the expense of voters in Black and brown communities. That is unacceptable, and I am helping lead the fight against it. I am a proud original cosponsor of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. The Lewis Act restores the federal preclearance protections the Supreme Court gutted in 2013, blocking discriminatory voting changes before they take effect. The Freedom to Vote Act sets national standards guaranteeing early voting, secure mail ballots, automatic registration, and protection for election workers facing threats. Together, these reforms will make sure the next election is decided by voters, not by Donald Trump.

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