A prominent Democratic voice in Democrat-dominated Colorado who once served in the state’s legislature representing Denver, then as Denver city attorney, then chief of staff for Democrat former Gov. John Hickenlooper, has delivered to his own party a warning about the wave of “socialist” primary election winners.
His own city experienced just that recently, with the victory in the party’s primary for Congress by Melat Kiros, a dedicated Democratic socialist whose extremism has pushed the limits of tolerance even for the leftist party.
She booted from office 15-term Democrat Dianna DeGette, who already was on the far left of the party.
“It was one thing watching this happen in New York … But when it happens in a state like Colorado, which is really the gateway to the West, it tells me that this issue is going to spread and may be a cancer to the Democratic Party if they don’t figure out what our values are,” charged veteran political strategist Doug Friednash, in an interview with Fox.
“I never would have thought we would have seen a victory of that magnitude here in Denver,” he said of Kiros’ 13-point margin.
The report noted Friednash has tracked Colorado’s political shift from red to deep blue over the past three decades. It was over that time period that a coalition of multimillionaires, including the present governor, Jared Polis, worked to take over the state for Democrats.
They strategically pushed tens of thousands of dollars in state legislative races that would shift the majority to the Democrats, and succeeded, with the state now run by Democrats in the governor’s office, the state House, the state Senate, and even the state Supreme Court, where Democrats wildly tried to ban President Trump from the 2024 election ballot before being rebuked by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Strategist Doug Friednash warns that socialist Melat Kiros’ primary upset in Colorado is a warning sign for his party, which he says is embracing the left out of fear rather than fighting over its own values. pic.twitter.com/zIDrTfV6GA
— Fox News Flash (@FoxNews_Flash) August 8, 2026
The Kiros victory in the primary was described as a “shock” to Colorado’s Democrat establishment. And it has raised questions about the party’s future.
“If you had told me this woman would have won by 13 points, I would have bet my house against that,” Friednash said, “I never would have thought we would have seen a victory of that magnitude here in Denver.”
Kiros actually has been just one of many socialists who have won Democrat primaries in recent weeks and months.
Friednash credited Kiros with messaging that attracted younger voters who feel let down by the Democrat establishment
“A lot of younger people that have moved to Denver have come here wanting to buy a house. They can’t buy a home, it seems unaffordable and unattainable. And I think she’s tapped into a lot of voter anger and hostility over things not being better,” he said.
He described Denver has become a microcosm of the national debate taking place within the Democratic Party over its future direction, the report explained.
He said, “As I look out at what’s happening within the Democratic Party, you know, it’s kind of like a ship without a captain. A lot of the more mainstream Democrats, rather than trying to say, ‘Here are the issues we should be fighting about,’ are embracing the socialists, because I think they’re afraid of them… much like I think we’ve seen with the MAGA movement.”
He’s not alone in his concern, the report said, as prominent centrist Democratic groups such as Third Way are fretting. That organization told the New York Times it is launching a $15 million campaign to combat the Democratic Socialists of America movement.
Other observers have noted the turn to the radical by Democrats.
Jon Caldara, of the Independence Institute, a free-market think tank, told Fox, “Without a doubt, the Democratic Party in Colorado has changed.” He charges the state has abandoned it’s historic pro-business positions.
Caldara is a libertarian.
“When the state started turning left, this machine was so powerful, it really couldn’t stop itself,” Caldara said. “And now it’s really beginning to eat their own. It’s kind of a French Revolution thing that you see that the Democratic Party here in Colorado is now well out over their skis. And there is a growing fight between Democrats and socialists.
“The real telltale is that Democrats are afraid to speak the truth because they don’t want to get canceled,” he added. “It is vicious to go against the socialists.”
Colorado resident Gene Maine, who fled the Soviet Union as a teen in 1981, also issued the state a warning about election people like Kiros.
“She is winning the primary because we have an organized group convincing people that they can have free stuff. You can have free medical care. You can have free supermarkets. You can have free transportation. And it’s very appealing,” Maine explained. “I like free stuff, but what they forget to tell you is that nothing is really free. As they say, there’s no free lunch.”
🚨 Doug Friednash, former chief of staff to Senator John Hickenlooper (D): “I think the Democratic party is becoming unrecognizable. While Democrats may be falling in love with socialism, the rest of the country is not.” pic.twitter.com/y773U41ykK
— DSA Watch (@DSA_Watch) July 1, 2026
