Across the country, the Democratic Socialists of America are on a winning streak and in eight days, DSA member Melat Kiros, the Democratic nominee for Colorados 1st Congressional District, hopes to secure the DSAs latest congres sional win.As Democratic Socialism grows in popularity, Kiros said her definition of the political ideology means expanding on institutions, rights, and programs already in place in Colorado.I define Democratic Socialism as an extension of the democratic rights that we have to, you know, being able to call on a fire station when our house is in crisis, being able to send our kids to public schools, being able to drive on the public roads that we have," she told Denver7 anchor Micah Smith. "I'm calling to expand that democracy into our housing, into our healthcare, into our higher education, to make sure that we have tuition-free public college. I think it's really important."She continued, "I think when we're talking about socialism, because we're up against, you know, decades of all these different ideas of what it might mean, is to talk about what capitalism is and is not, right? You know, free markets, enterprise, innovation, competition all of these things preceded capitalism for centuries before we actually even came up with the word capitalism, Kiros said.But even as socialism gains in popularity, some Coloradans have expressed fear over what Democratic Socialism could bring to the state.I haven't had too many folks that have been afraid about what it means. Most folks are just curious. Those folks are like, 'What does it actually mean?' I mean, they've seen AOC, they've seen Bernie [Sanders]. Bernie won this state twice, right, on Democratic Socialism. They've seen [New York City Mayor Zohran] Mamdani in New York. I think folks are much more open to, you know, 'What does democratic socialism mean?' Kiros said.Kiros said shes spoken to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, and Zohran Mamdani several times over the past few months.They've all been really wonderful and supportive and helping make sure that we can actually deliver on all of these big ideas that we have, Kiros said.Kiros has also received support from Hasan Piker, a controversial political commentator, Twitch streamer, and DSA supporter who attended Kiross primary results watch party.He is someone who, you know, has a really large platform of largely young people, and these are the same people that stayed home during 2024. And the Democratic Party was trying to figure out, 'How do we get young people back into the party? How do we get young men back into the party?' And I don't agree with everything Hasan Piker has ever said. Just like I don't agree with everything any media platform I go onto says, Kiros said.She said many young men found out about her campaign from watching Piker's stream, and said she's heard that many of those voters "finally felt like there was a campaign that was speaking to the concerns that they have as young people, about our future, about the economy, about the climate, and that kind of organizing is going to be critically important if we're going to beat back this fascism. We cannot ignore any group of people. We have to go talk to the voters everywhere.Despite high profile DSA members and supporters within the Democratic Party, some party leaders have resisted embracing the DSA and continue to consider the members political outsiders.Kiros was asked how she plans to accomplish policy goals like Medicare for All or limiting or eliminating aid to Israel within a caucus that may treat her as an outsider.Its such an important question, right? Because we have a responsibility not just to make a bunch of noise; we have to actually get things done, Kiros said. The problem that we have is a system that has concentrated wealth at the top, that has allowed the wealthy and the powerful to inject tens of millions of dollars, in some cases hundreds of millions of dollars, to buy up politicians like they're buying a cup of coffee."WATCH | Kiros responds to CD1 candidates claims her comments were a dog whistle for antisemitic attacks in the video below: Kiros responds to CD1 candidates claims her comments were a dog whistle for antisemitic attacksShe continued, "That kind of system is never going to reflect the will of where the people are at, and so our responsibility is to demonstrate to our future colleagues that not only is it the democratic thing to do to get something like Medicare for All passed, which has support of two thirds of Americans and a supermajority of support among Democratic voters. It is also the pragmatic thing to do, if we want to beat back fascism.While Kiros said she looks forward to working with fellow Democrats on impactful policies if she wins, Kiros is not ready to commit to supporting Hakeem Jeffries as the Speaker of the House, if Democrats take control of the chamber.Voters of this district have made it really clear that they're really upset and critical of the leadership that we have right now. My responsibility is to make sure that whoever ends up becoming Speaker, that their agenda is reflective of what the people want right now you know, a path to making sure we can get Medicare for All at the very least marked up, right? Kiros said. A path to make sure that we can get universal childcare done, to make sure that we can get a data center moratorium passed. This is what the American people have made abundantly clear that they want to see Democrats prioritizing, and I look forward to conversations with leader Jeffries to make sure that that's actually on the agenda. And then, if and only then, is when I would commit to voting.Kiros said if elected, during her first term, she thinks she can help achieve bipartisan legislation.I think in our our first term, you know, under a Trump administration, I think there are some really important bipartisan pieces of legislation that we could actually achieve reversing these Medicaid cuts is going to be important, but going further and fighting for some Medicare, Medicaid expansion as well as Social Security expansion. Capping credit card interest rates at 10%, Kiros said.Kiros said as Election Day gets closer, she wants voters to know she plans to fight for all Denverites, regardless of party or background.I'm an immigrant that was raised here in Denver, and I got a front row seat to watching my parents actually achieve the American Dream, and that dream is no longer accessible to most people today," she said. "My fight is to make sure that we can bring that dream back for every single Denver resident who chooses this city to be their home, and in order for us to do that, it's going to take all of us, right? I'm not going to be able to walk in there and wave a magic wand. Democracy is not a spectator sport, Kiros said.If elected, Kiros would become the first Black woman and first Gen Z woman to represent Colorado in Congress. ...read more read less