Jeffries congratulates DSA-backed challenger who ousted his endorsement pick in Colorado

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) celebrated socialist Melat Kiros’s victory in Colorado’s Democratic Primary after the far-left candidate defeated 15-term Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), who was backed by the top House Democrat.

On Wednesday, Jeffries posted on social media, extending congratulations to Democratic Socialists of America-backed Kiros despite previously backing incumbent DeGette. The New York Democrat stopped short of fully voicing his support for Kiros, only reaffirming the party’s desire to regain the majority in the House.

“Congratulations to [Melat Kiros] on your hard-fought primary win,” Jeffries said. “We will take back the majority in November. And House Democrats will aggressively tackle the affordability crisis, fix our broken healthcare system and end the culture of corruption in Washington!”

Kiros, 29, defeated DeGette, 68, Tuesday night, garnering more than 50% of the vote, while DeGette trailed with 41.7%.

Following her win, Kiros said her success was the result of voters being fed up with establishment Democrats who have, in her opinion, failed to address issues they care about, as well as incumbents benefiting from corporate dollars.

“For decades Democrats have failed to meaningfully deliver for working families,” Kiros told Politico. “It’s not about popular support, it’s about political will, and that means we have to vote out any of the incumbents that are standing in our way by taking that kind of corporate PAC money.”

Kiros also said she would not support Jeffries as party leader if she were elected, and many other socialist candidates have opposed support for Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

Jeffries’s decision to support Kiros despite her not being his first choice follows a similar pattern among Democrats. Party leaders have moved to support DSA-backed candidates following primary wins, even if they initially supported the incumbent or a moderate Democrat.

SOCIALISTS SWEEP DENVER AS MELAT KIROS DEFEATS LONGTIME HOUSE DEMOCRAT DIANA DEGETTE IN PRIMARY

Socialist candidates have caused a split within the Democratic members of Congress. Some lawmakers view the Democratic Party as a “big tent” party and welcome any candidate who can help them regain control of either chamber.

Moderate Democrats, however, have strayed away from backing socialist candidates. Following socialist success in the New York primaries, 13 moderate Democrats published an open letter, saying, “We are capitalists and not socialists,” in response to the election results.