Meet Melat Kiros: Ethiopian American Trailblazer Running for Congress











A personal story rooted in Denver—and in Ethiopia

Melat Kiros immigrated to Denver from Tigray, Ethiopia with her family in 1998. She grew up in Colorado—attending Eaglecrest High School—before earning a dual B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Washington College (2018) and a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School (2022). She describes herself as an attorney who’s also a PhD student and barista—signals that her professional life has spanned both policy circles and everyday service work.

Kiros’ Ethiopian heritage is central to how she talks about public service. As a first-generation American from a community that has navigated displacement, remittances, and tight-knit mutual aid, she frames politics as a tool to secure basic dignity: stable housing, health care, quality public schools, and a fair economy. Those themes run throughout her answers to Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey—and they’re the backbone of her campaign.

Why she’s running now

Kiros launched a primary challenge in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District (Denver) ahead of the 2026 cycle, arguing the district is ready for “a new generation of leadership.” Her campaign announcement—covered locally in late July—introduced a progressive platform focused on reining in money in politics and codifying basic social rights.

The seat she’s seeking is one of the bluest in the Mountain West (Cook PVI: D+29) and has been represented by Democrat Diana DeGette since 1997, making DeGette the state’s most senior House member. Any contender must therefore persuade a deeply Democratic, highly urban electorate—one that prizes both progressive ideals and practical results.

Core priorities Kiros is campaigning on

From her public materials and survey responses, three pillars stand out:

Get big money out of politics.Kiros wants campaign-finance and lobbying reform as a precondition to progress on everything else, along with congressional term limits and a shorter election cycle.

Strengthen democratic participation.She backs expanded voting rights and consolidating elections to make participation simpler and more equitable.

Guarantee basic needs.She advocates policies to codify access to housing, health care (including Medicare-style coverage), nutritious food, and free, high-quality public education as baseline rights—so residents can “not only get by, but thrive.”

Those positions place her squarely in Denver’s progressive tradition while speaking to pocketbook pressures—rent, medical bills, and grocery costs—that constituents encounter daily.

How her background shapes her lens

Kiros’ biography gives her an unusually wide field of view:

Immigrant and first-generation perspective. Having started life on one continent and come of age in another, she carries a lived understanding of migration’s challenges and the resilience of diaspora families. That experience often maps onto Denver’s broader story as a city of newcomers and long-time neighbors building community together.

Legal training with day-to-day service work. She’s an attorney who also keeps a foot in hourly, customer-facing work. That combination lets her talk policy at the level of statutes—but also at the counter, where missed bus transfers and surprise medical bills are very real.

Faith and community. Ballotpedia lists her as Eastern Orthodox Christian; for many in Denver’s Ethiopian and broader Horn of Africa community, church is also a social service hub—organizing mutual aid, youth programs, and cultural life—something a constituent-minded representative can understand and partner with.

The district she wants to represent

Colorado’s 1st Congressional District is essentially the City and County of Denver (plus the enclaves of Glendale and Holly Hills). It’s 100% urban, diverse by ethnicity and income, and anchored by neighborhoods with very different realities: from fast-growing, transit-served corridors to communities wrestling with displacement, addiction, and rising costs. Any candidate here must show fluency in both climate and housing policy, both small-business vitality and worker protections, and both public safety and civil rights.

How Kiros differentiates herself from a long-tenured incumbent

Diana DeGette has delivered decades of work on health care, reproductive rights, and environmental protection. Kiros isn’t running against those values; she’s arguing for a different approach—one that’s more aggressive about structural reforms (money in politics), tighter election timelines, and making basic needs legally enforceable rather than aspirational. For voters, the choice may come down to: remain with a highly experienced incumbent—or hand the seat to a new, Denver-raised, first-generation voice with a mandate for procedural and economic change.

What this could mean for Denver’s Ethiopian and East African communities

Kiros’ candidacy is symbolically significant. Denver’s Ethiopian/East African communities have grown in size and civic presence, yet remain under-represented in federal office. A member who speaks to immigrant journeys, remittance dynamics, small-business hurdles (including licensing and access to credit), and culturally competent health services could open new lines between federal resources and community groups—from churches to neighborhood associations to youth mentorship programs. (These are inferences based on her biography and platform; the specific program details will depend on future policy papers.)

The road ahead

The 2026 primary is the real contest in this deep-blue seat. Voters can expect multiple debates about housing affordability, public safety, climate resilience, transit, and campaign-finance reform. Kiros has an issues-forward website and engages on social media as she builds name recognition. Local coverage of her July 2025 launch underscores that this is a live, contested primary—one that will test appetite for generational turnover in a safely Democratic district.

Fast facts

Name: Melat Kiros

Hometown: Denver (immigrated from Tigray, Ethiopia in 1998)

Education: B.A., Washington College (2018); J.D., Notre Dame (2022)

Profession: Attorney; also identifies as PhD student and barista

Running for: U.S. House, Colorado’s 1st Congressional District (election November 3, 2026)

District profile: Denver-based, CPVI D+29 (most Democratic in CO and the Mountain West)

Incumbent: Rep. Diana DeGette, serving since 1997