Independent candidate hoping to take on Democrat Melat Kiros turns in signatures for Denver congressional seat

John Aguilar, The Denver Post on Jul 9, 2026

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DENVER — Melat Kiros, who earned the Democratic nomination to run for the seat long occupied by U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, may soon face a new opponent in the run-up to November.

Shimon Blau, a pain management physician and Israel supporter, on Thursday turned in signatures required to get on the ballot as an unaffiliated candidate — and he did so just an hour before the deadline after a rush to collect signatures this week.

“Dr. Blau turned in petitions at 4 p.m.,” Colorado Secretary of State’s Office spokesman Jack Todd said Thursday. “I cannot speak to how many signatures Dr. Blau turned in, or whether his petition submission will ultimately be deemed sufficient or insufficient.”

Blau must submit 1,500 valid voter signatures from the 1st Congressional District, which for the most part covers Denver, to make the November ballot. Election officials have until July 30 to review petitions for unaffiliated candidates, Todd said.

Kiros, who defeated the 15-term DeGette in the June 30 primary, also faces Republican Christy Peterson, who according to Federal Election Commission records had raised no money for the race through the end of March. She didn’t file a more recent campaign finance report.

Blau, who is Jewish, launched his long-shot congressional bid on Sunday, writing on Facebook that he was “saddened and alarmed” by Kiros’ victory a few days earlier.

Kiros, a 29-year-old democratic socialist, has been criticized for comments she made about 9/11, Israel’s legitimacy as a nation, and the deadly firebombing attack on Jews and others demonstrating in Boulder last year — an act she refused to call antisemitic.

“I am particularly concerned by what I view as Ms. Kiros’s anti-Semitic rhetoric and her refusal to meet with leaders of Denver’s Jewish community to address their concerns,” Blau wrote in his launch announcement.

Blau and Peterson may face a tough time trying to beat Kiros this fall, given Denver’s heavily Democratic skew.

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