Denverites have a decision to make this primary election, and the results could either send a fixture of Colorado politics back to Congress or could bring a new face into the U.S. Capitol.The 1st Congressional District has been represented by Congresswoman Diana DeGette for nearly 30 years. The incumbent candidate is being challenged by two Democrats this year Melat Kiros and Wanda James. WATCH: Denver7's Colette Bordelon spoke with all three candidates about why Denverites should vote for them. Democratic incumbent in Colorado's 1st Congressional District faces challenge from 2 new candidatesAll three of the Democratic candidates sat down with Denver7 to give their last pitches to voters who have not yet filled out their primary election ballots.The primary election in Colorado is June 30. Ballots must be received by 7 p.m. that day.A primary election is when each party selects which candidates they would like to see on the general election ballot in November. Unaffiliated voters in Colorado can vote in either party's primary, but cannot cast votes in both.Christy Peterson is running on the Republican side of the race. Denver7 asked Peterson for an interview ahead of the primary election, but Peterson said she would like to wait as she is running unopposed. She said her campaign priorities include public safety, inflation, and rebuilding manufacturing. Check out Denver7's Primary Election Voter Guide hereMELAT KIROS CD1 race in 2026: Where Melat Kiros stands on the issuesThe first name on the Democratic primary ballot in the race for the 1st Congressional District is Melat Kiros, who was born in Ethiopia. Her family immigrated to America when she was a young child.My parents got selected on the diversity visa lottery program, and we immigrated to Denver because there was a really strong Ethiopian community here, and that is the entire basis of my childhood, growing up here in Denver and Aurora," Kiros said. "I learned that real government, a functioning government, is supposed to function like community. It's supposed to be a place where no one gets left behind.The 29-year-old former attorney believes Denver is ready for a change in Congress."My promise is to always be on the side of the people," said Kiros. For us to be able to meet this moment, to meet the crises that we are facing with our economy, with our climate, with our democracy, we have to actually understand the system as it exists, and it's a system that puts money and wealth and power above the needs of working people.Kiros said she felt the need to enter politics after President Donald Trump won the election in 2024."I decided to run, and that was 11 months ago, and it was just me, my friend, and this crazy idea that we could go up against the establishment and actually fight for working people. And 11 months later, we've built an incredible movement of over 1,000 volunteers, over 8,000 individual donors people that are really ready and committed to seeing leadership that's unbought and unafraid to stand up to the oligarchy that has been burning our planet, keeping our prices high, profiting from genocide," said Kiros.According to Kiros, she is pursuing a PhD centered on researching the impact of money in politics."Taking money out of politics is the foundational prerequisite to all of the things that I think we need to do, which includes Medicare for All, housing first, universal childcare and elder care, free public transit, and tuition-free public college," said Kiros.At the close of every interview, Denver7 asked the candidates to share a fun fact about themselves."I'm a sucker for reality TV, and so the thing that's been really keeping me, I think, sane about this really incredible and amazing, but crazy process is, you know, every night I get home and I just put on some episode of some reality TV show that I'm obsessed with," Kiros said with a smile. "Right now, it's Love Island, and I just zone out for a little bit, watch a fun show, and then get my rest."DIANA DeGETTE CD1 race in 2026: Where Diana DeGette stands on the issuesSince 1997, Congresswoman Diana DeGette has represented the 1st Congressional District. A fourth generation Denverite, DeGette called the city the "most special place in the world."The oldest of five children who were raised by a single mother working as a teacher, DeGette said she wanted to become a civil rights lawyer."I went to law school in the village in New York, which was quite something for a Colorado girl," DeGette said. "After graduation, most of my classmates went to Wall Street and took big fancy jobs, but I came home and I became a public defender. And then I became a civil rights lawyer after that, never with any idea of running for office. I eventually realized I could help more people if I ran for office... And so when a state legislative office opened, I then ran for that seat and got elected to the state legislature.Now, DeGette is serving her 15th term in Congress."I feel like being there that long has taught me how to pass legislation, how to impact legislation, but also how to stand up against Trump and his cronies in this really dangerous time," said DeGette.DeGette listed off what she considers her accomplishments from her time in office."When Obama was still president, I passed a bill the 21st Century Cures Act a bill that completely restructured the way we do biomedical research at the NIH and then drug and device approval at the FDA... The main thing we did with that was try to get more money and more expeditious research for cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, but also the authorities from that bill allowed them to do Operation Warp Speed to get the COVID vaccine, so that impacted everybody getting that vaccine quickly out," DeGette said.She continued to say that over the last five years, she has secured $60 million in federal funding for community-based projects in Denver focused on housing, health care, and transportation.Denver7 asked DeGette if she believes there are new ideas needed in Congress."We need newer members of Congress who come in with fresh ideas, but that doesn't mean that more senior members don't have fresh ideas either," DeGette said. "I have several ideas that I'm trying to pass into law right now for making biomedical research and also environmental research much better, but I think you need a combination of senior members who know how the process works, who know how to get things done, and who know how to stand up against Trump, but you also need to have junior members come in.If chosen by Democratic voters to advance to the general election ballot, DeGette promised to "fight for our democracy, to fight Donald Trump. I will work to defund and to dismantle ICE, and I will work to make health care more affordable by moving towards Medicare for All and single-payer.A fun fact about DeGette is that she loves to sing, and does so in her church choir."It's a wonderful way to relax and to be with other people, and to make something beautiful," DeGette said.WANDA JAMES CD1 race in 2026: Where Wanda James stands on the issuesWanda James has a long list of "firsts" in her life: She was the first Black woman commissioned through the Naval ROTC at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU), the first Black woman elected to CU's Board of Regents in over 44 years, and, alongside her husband, they were the first Black couple in the country to own a legally licensed cannabis dispensary, edible, and cultivation facility.When I think about that as being progressive ideals or progressive ideas, that's exactly where I have always stood from my time as a cannabis entrepreneur," James said. "I'm in cannabis not because I care about you smoking weed or having a gummy tonight to help you sleep. I'm in cannabis because nobody should be in jail for simple possession, and simple possession has led to mass incarceration, which has led to slave labor. So, that has been my fight for over 17 years.James' father was in the military, and as a result, she has lived all over the world."What has prepared me most for this role was the amazing man who raised me, who was my father, Leonard James. This amazing single parent dad who really poured into me, you know, gave me all the confidence in the world to be who you are, to go out into the world and not be fearful, and more importantly, to care about people and care about the things that you're doing," James said.Professionally, James believes her time as a military officer has also prepared her for a seat in Congress."That part is what makes you resilient, tough, you know, able to take the bullets that come at you and still get up and continue fighting. That's something you've really got to be able to do in politics," said James.Since her senior year of high school, James has wanted to be involved in politics.I believe that government can help people, which is what it's supposed to do. That's the basis of being an American," James said. "I would like to say how amazingly excited I am to be able to represent this district at this time, during this particular place where we are at in America, because it's the accumulation of everything that I've ever done and everything that I've ever believed."James feels there are a number of issues she would need to work on if chosen to be the Democrat who advances to the general election ballot."When I think about CD1 specifically, it's the same issues that are affecting every American coast-to-coast right now. We can no longer afford to live in the country that we all love and adore. Health care is out of control. Trying to own your first home is out of control. And then my passion is education. Public school education is at the forefront of what we must do," James said. "An educated society is an informed society."Something voters may not know about James is that she grew up riding horses."I used to ride rodeo here in Colorado. My father is a six-foot-four Black Texas cowboy, and my entire life I've had horses in our backyard," James said. ...read more read less