‘We’re resonating’: Democratic Socialist looks to topple establishment Democrat in Colorado

[0:00] Good morning. What's up, everybody? I'm Jacob Soberoff. It is Sunday, June 28th, [0:04] and you are watching Connect. You know my happy place is in Election Day, and we are once again [0:09] just days away from another important primary election here in America. Voters will head to [0:14] the polls in Colorado to vote in primaries for the governorship and the House and the Senate [0:19] and other state races. And after the progressive sweep in New York City on Tuesday, one House race [0:24] just got really, really interesting. In New York, three candidates backed by Democratic Socialist [0:30] Mayor Zoran Mamdani won their primaries, knocking out two incumbent Democrats in a powerful show of [0:36] force against the establishment. And to centrist Democrats, these wins are not just any Democratic [0:42] wins. They are a warning sign that the playbook that they have been running on might not be what [0:47] their voters want anymore. Progressives are on a hot streak, and Donald Trump is already running with [0:54] that he is doing what he does best. He's putting his own spin on the messaging and slinging around [0:59] familiar insults. They're communists. They're not social Democrats. They want to completely destroy [1:07] the traditional American way of life. Communism is very easy to sell. It destroys everything, [1:16] but it's very easy. I'd be, I'll be honest, I think I'd be the greatest communist in history. [1:23] Uh, okay. Well, let me get this straight. Communists are bad and will destroy America, [1:27] but he would be the greatest communist in history. Cool. Anyway, let me state the obvious. Those [1:35] progressive candidates won in deep blue New York City, so it is not exactly a full referendum on [1:40] the midterms in November. And moderate Democrats have been doing well in races far more likely to [1:45] decide control of Congress. But, but we cannot ignore that Tuesday's primaries were an undeniable [1:51] sign that Americans are tired of the status quo. And this is bigger than, than one city or one mayor. [1:57] Progressive candidates are hoping to ride this wave in races all across the nation. [2:03] Take Abdul El-Sayed, for example. He is a progressive, former public health official [2:07] endorsed by Bernie Sanders, running for a competitive seat in Michigan to replace retiring [2:12] Democratic Senator Gary Peters. He told Politico this. It's happening in New York. It is happening [2:18] in Michigan. I think we are seeing it happen across the country now. Folks are sick and tired [2:23] of being sick and tired. Or take a look at what's going on in Wisconsin. Francesca Hong, [2:29] a candidate running on the Democratic Socialists of America campaign and playbook, [2:33] is looking to win the governor's seat there. She is gaining traction in the polls and says [2:37] it is time Wisconsin and Democrats tried something new. [2:42] I was at the Democratic convention this past weekend and we, I got asked over and over again about, [2:55] we love your campaign. We love what you stand for. Your policies are amazing. It's so thorough. [3:02] But can you win? [3:04] And this all brings us back to Colorado and the race to watch on Tuesday. [3:18] Maylot Kiros is a 29-year-old Democratic socialist giving incumbent Congresswoman Diana to get her [3:25] biggest primary challenge in nearly 30 years. Kiros is an Ethiopian immigrant, an attorney, [3:31] a barista, and a PhD student. And Maylot Kiros joins me now. She is running in the Democratic primary [3:38] for Colorado's 1st Congressional District. Good morning. Thanks for being here. [3:42] Thanks for having me, Jacob. [3:44] How are you feeling? What stands between you and victory on Tuesday? [3:47] Right now we're feeling fantastic. We are seeing millions of dollars being poured in by corporate [3:53] PACs and super PACs and anonymous super PACs with dark money. But we know for a fact that we are going [3:59] to be able to beat all of those dollars because we have thousands of volunteers knocking on doors [4:03] all across the city, talking to our neighbors about the values we care about, the policies that [4:08] we want to see, and the world that we want to live in. I've been watching the race relatively closely [4:13] and digging in over the last couple of days. And you are running the strongest challenge to [4:17] Diana DeGette in 30 years. Why do you think you, someone with no political experience, [4:23] at least in the vein that she has, is resonating with people? [4:28] I think candidates have a responsibility to meet voters where they're at. And that's what we started [4:32] with this campaign over 11 months ago, in bookstores and coffee shops and bars and restaurants, [4:37] meeting voters where they're at, talking about the concerns that they have, not only about our [4:41] government, but the state of our country right now and how we are actually going to move forward [4:45] and what kind of policies we need to get that done. And in Denver, we are a city that is extremely [4:51] progressive, extremely young. We've passed things like universal pre-K, like term limits, [4:55] like publicly financed elections. Our campaign is the only campaign in this race with every single [4:59] one of those issues on our platform. We're resonating with the voters because we're fighting [5:03] for the things that they care about. [5:05] The acrimony in this election has sort of turned up and progressive leaders in your state are [5:11] criticizing you, declining to call the deadly firebombing attack last year on a Jewish community [5:16] rally in Boulder, anti-Semitic. And you've also been criticized over your comments tied to October [5:21] 7th. Views over Israel seem like a common line of attack between Democratic socialists and [5:26] mainstream Democrats in all of these primary elections. But what's your response to members [5:30] of your own party, especially the progressive Democrats in your state who are criticizing you? [5:36] You know, I think what happened in the Boulder firebombing was a horrific attack on a group of [5:40] Jewish people that were peacefully protesting. It has made many Jewish people in our city, [5:45] in our states, and in our entire country feeling extremely unsafe. And that's why I think it's [5:50] incredibly important that we distinguish between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism, because our [5:55] responsibility is to protecting our neighbors, protecting our Jewish brothers and sisters in [5:59] this city. That is my commitment to combating any hate that comes their way, while also making sure [6:05] that we are not using our taxpayer dollars to fund endless wars and genocide abroad, protecting babies [6:10] here and protecting babies abroad. [6:12] I wonder how you would characterize Diana DeGette's campaign against you, because 48 hours before you [6:18] and live streamer Hassan Piker were supposed to hold an event at the Ogden Theater, I think it was. [6:24] The venue canceled the event. This was a couple of weeks ago due to pressure and concern from the [6:29] local community, reports said. And the rally was moved to the Capitol steps. I saw this crowd. [6:33] It was enormous. Tell me that story. What was behind that whole situation? [6:37] You know, we had several venues cancel on us the week leading up to the rally that we were going [6:44] to be having, not only with Hassan Piker, but with several other candidates, including Justin Pearson [6:49] and Donovan McKinney, my fellow Justice Democrats, where we were going to be talking about what it [6:53] was going to, what we were going to need to do to not only change our party, but to fight for a kind [6:57] of politics that really meaningfully helps working families and uplifts them. We saw several of those [7:02] venues cancel on us at the very last minute. And, you know, while they can cancel and take us out of [7:08] the buildings that we were holding in these rallies, they can't stop us from building this [7:11] movement. So we took it to the people's house. We took it to the Capitol steps and we gathered [7:15] hundreds, almost over a thousand Denver voters that wanted to hear our message and stood strong [7:20] with us. Denver is not New York, but I wonder if you have taken any lessons from watching [7:26] Zoran Mamdani's slate of progressive Democrats win on last Tuesday. Denver is not New York, [7:34] but Denver actually rates socialism higher than we rate capitalism by four points. And, you know, [7:39] when I talk to voters about what we're doing and why I'm a democratic socialist, I remind them that [7:43] we have socialism already, right? It's in the roads that we drive on. It's in the schools we send our [7:47] kids to. It's in the fire stations we call upon. I'm just asking that we extend that security to our [7:54] health care, to our housing, to our nutritional food, to our higher education, so that we're [7:58] actually meeting the basic needs of everyday working families in this country, so that we're [8:02] not just getting by and surviving, so that we're actually thriving. And in the wealthiest, most [8:07] powerful country on earth, we're not asking for much. You mentioned health care, and one of your [8:11] top policies is Medicare for All, but Diana DeGette is a co-sponsor of the Medicare for All Act in [8:15] Congress. Are there any dividing lines between the two of you on Medicare for All? Yeah, the dividing line [8:22] is how we actually get it done. There is no world where we pass Medicare for All while there is [8:27] still a majority of members of Congress that are taking money from the very health insurance companies [8:32] that would effectively be legislated out of existence. It's the same reason why the National [8:36] Nurses United's policy director also expressed concern for members of Congress that are co-sponsoring [8:42] this bill while also taking money from big health insurance companies. And we have to pass Medicare [8:46] for All. We have to get that done in the next Democratic administration. That's how we [8:50] MAGA-proof our future. That's how we guarantee that whatever sycophant fills Donald Trump's shoes [8:55] in 2032 and tries to lay blame on all of our vulnerable communities for why the system is [9:00] rigged, we can point to a piece of legislation that we passed that meaningfully helped working [9:04] families. And the only way we get Medicare for All passed is by getting rid of the Democrats [9:08] that are actively standing in that way by taking money from the same interests that don't want to see [9:13] Medicare for All passed. You have made your personal story as an immigrant to this country [9:18] a part of your campaign. And you have talked about how your father spoke to you about Democrats as a [9:23] child, which is why you wanted to be a Democrat. And sort of part of your origin story is why you [9:28] decided to run in this race. Talk to me about why your personal life story makes you suited to be [9:37] the congressperson in Colorado at this moment. Yeah, you know, I immigrated to Denver in 98 when I was a [9:44] baby and watched my parents navigate this brand new country, navigate the immigration process. And [9:49] once they became naturalized and chose the party that they wanted to belong to, I asked him why [9:53] he chose the party of Democrats. And he said, because this is the party that fights for working [9:57] people. This is the party that got fair labor laws, the New Deal, Social Security. This is the party that [10:02] fights for working people. But it didn't just happen overnight. People had to push the party to fight for [10:08] these kinds of policies. That was organizers. That was dreamers. That were people pushing leadership in our [10:13] party to fight for working families. That's what we just saw in New York City, the voters pushing [10:18] the party to elect leaders that are going to stand up to the special interests and the billionaires and [10:22] the corporations that are responsible for burning our planet and keeping our prices high. I think [10:26] that's what we're going to see here in Denver on Tuesday. And I think we're seeing it happening all [10:29] across the country. Moderate Democrats are worried that that this shift to the left or policies put [10:37] forward by Democratic Socialists will hurt Democrats' long-term electoral chances. And we've heard it over and [10:43] over again, yet Democratic Socialists continue to win. What do you say to that criticism from the [10:49] establishment part of the party? I'd point out that they've shown no evidence for why any of these [10:54] policies would hurt the party in the long term. In fact, there is a mountain of evidence that shows [10:59] that policies like Medicare for all, housing first, and universal child care would be immensely helpful [11:04] to working families and therefore helpful to the party. At the end of the day, it is cheaper to house [11:09] someone than to leave them homeless. It is cheaper to heal someone than it is to let them go sick. [11:13] It is cheaper to give young families child care than it is to let them figure it out for themselves [11:18] or force one of them to stay out of the workforce. These are all common sense policies that have a [11:23] support of a super majority of the voters of this party. I would recommend that the moderate voters [11:28] that are afraid of what they're seeing right now actually just talk to their voters and see that this [11:32] is what the party is actually building towards. Malak-Harros, Democratic candidate for Colorado's [11:37] first congressional district. Really nice to talk to you. Thanks for being here this morning. [11:39] Thank you, Jacob.