By admin 
A trio of super PACs is dumping $1.3 million, most of it from unknown sources, into the Democratic primary in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District in a last-minute effort to prevent longtime U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette from being unseated by political newcomer and Democratic socialist Melat Kiros.
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The spending, most of it going toward ads attacking Kiros, is the clearest sign yet that DeGette may be at serious risk of being dislodged from Washington after nearly three decades.
Kiros, 29, is running as a liberal insurgent and is pitching voters on new federal representation for Denver. DeGette, who is 68 and was first elected to Congress in 1996, argues that her long tenure means she is primed for a leadership position in the U.S. House should Democrats retake Congress in November.
“I don’t think she’s in trouble so much as that it’s insurance money to make sure she doesn’t get in trouble,” said Mike Dino, a Democratic strategist in Denver. “I think this has been the pattern across the country where incumbents have been taken on by insurgents. There’s a lot of handwringing that there’s momentum for the insurgents.”
That being said, while DeGette has faced — and fended off — primary challengers before, there has never been such a concerted and monied effort to protect her.
A super PAC called Mile High Accountability Project kicked off the pro-DeGette spending spree June 6, when it dropped $350,000 on digital ads accusing Kiros of trying to divide Denver Democrats.
“Donald Trump loves Democrats like Kiros,” the ad says.
The ad also parrots a misleading attack leveled by DeGette’s campaign that Kiros “recently moved to Denver.”
Kiros’ family moved to Denver when she was 11 months old and she grew up in the area before leaving to attend college. She returned to Colorado after being fired from a law firm.
Finally, the spot accuses Kiros — an outspoken opponent of Israel — of making statements “laced with antisemitism” and argues, as DeGette’s campaign claims, she is tied to efforts to defund the police and abolish the U.S. Senate.
It’s unclear who is funding the Mile High Accountability Project, which formed April 29 and is registered to a Democratic campaign finance attorney in Denver. The PAC won’t have to report its donors until July 15, the next Federal Election Commission disclosure deadline.
Another PAC, Project 218, spent $400,000 Wednesday on TV and digital ads attacking Kiros. Its ads also accuse Kiros of recently moving to Denver and claim “she brought an extreme agenda.” It repeats the statement that she wants to defund the police and repeats another DeGette claim that Kiros wants the U.S. to withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO.
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“Melat does not believe, nor has she ever stated, that she would defund the police, abolish NATO or abolish the U.S. Senate if elected to office,” Kiros’ campaign said in a written statement.
The claims made by DeGette’s campaign, according to a spokesman for the congresswoman, are based on the Democratic Socialists of America platform nationally and in Denver, but not anything that Kiros has ever said.
In the past, Project 218 has received donations from wealthy individuals, many of them who work in the technology industry. It’s linked to American Bridge 21st Century, another liberal PAC and a prolific spender on Democratic campaigns and causes.
Finally, the super PAC Pro-Choice Majority Action spent about $460,000 this week on ads supporting DeGette. One of its spots makes the claim that DeGette is “the loudest, strongest voice fighting Donald Trump” and touts her work as a 2020 impeachment manager against the president.
The ad also highlights DeGette’s support of defunding and dismantling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for passing Medicare for All. (Kiros supports those things, too.)
Pro-Choice Majority Action was formed May 1 and, like the Mile High Accountability Project, won’t have to disclose its donors until July 15.
Kiros is getting some super PAC help from the liberal group Justice Democrats, which sent mailers to Denver voters promoting Kiros and attacking DeGette’s votes in Congress and where her campaign’s donations have come from. The PAC is funded mostly by individual donors giving relatively small amounts. The PAC has also spent money on digital ads.
In total, Justice Democrats has reported spending about $200,000 to help Kiros.
“Denver voters are going to decide this race — not outside money, not special interests,” Kiros said in a written statement in response to the spending by the Mile High Accountability Project, Project 218 and Pro-Choice Majority Action.
A third Democrat, University of Colorado Regent Wanda James, is also running in the 1st District Democratic primary. But her campaign has not gained much momentum, either in fundraising or support, and she is effectively being ignored by Kiros and DeGette.
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