Diana DeGette

A 28-year-old leftist barista is hoping to take the Congressional seat of a woman who took office the same year she was born.

Melat Kiros, a political novice, challenged Representative Diana DeGette in the Democrat primary for a seat she's held since 1997.

Kiros is a lawyer and PhD student but mainly works the counter at the Whittier Cafe in Denver as she challenges a Washington fixture.

She is modeling her run for office after New York City's Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Whittier's website shows numerous anti-Donald Trump and pro-Black Lives Matter posters on the walls.

In the heavily left-leaning district - the 68-year-old DeGette has won by at least 50 points in each of her last three races - Kiros has gained momentum and sent shockwaves through Colorado politics by nearly keeping DeGette off the ballot.

Kiros received 63 percent of the vote in the party's county assembly, in which delegates determine who gets on the ballot in Democrat primaries in Colorado.

DeGette got only 32 percent, just staying above the 30 percent line required to remain on the ballot, after having won the contest in each of her 15 prior primaries.

Both candidates agree that the assembly process doesn't mean much in terms of actual election turnout but Kiros believes her district is ready for change.

'This has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the fact that Denver Democrats want a fighter — somebody who is actually committed to transformative change,' Kiros told The Denver Post.

Her key positions include the Bernie Sanders-backed Medicare For All, universal childcare and an arms embargo toward Israel.

She was even fired from a law firm after writing a blog post that questioned the state of Israel's legitimacy and criticizing a letter her firm wrote condemning antisemitism.

Kiros' anti-Israel rhetoric has continued in her campaign, where she drew heat for sharing a video on social media claiming that Democrats 'fellate Israel.' She defended herself by saying she doesn't endorse the language used.

The 28-year-old has also been critical of mainstream Democrats' reaction to the war in Iran.

In an Instagram video filmed as she walked down a street, Kiros denounced politicians who take contributions from the defense industry.

'The only way things change is if we make sure that our elected representatives aren't in the pockets of the military industrial complex,' she said.

In an ​interview with Reuters, Kiros criticized DeGette for twice voting against motions by progressive lawmakers to cut the Pentagon's budget in 2020 and 2021.

'The greatest hypocrisy I'm seeing is these folks now saying we shouldn't ​be spending this money on war.'

DeGette's campaign did ⁠not respond to Reuters for comment, but in a March 5 statement she said, 'This war is costing at least $1 billion every day. That is billions of dollars that could go towards affordable health care and housing. I refuse to support this war.'

She could run into trouble given that DeGette, a sponsor of Medicare For All in the House, has been praised by someone Kiros sees herself as aligning heavily with in Congress: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

'She is one of the most powerful people in Congress on health care and Diana DeGette is a co-sponsor of Medicare for All. She believes in the guaranteed right to health care for every American. Thank you for electing her,' she said at a rally held with Sanders and DeGette in Denver last year.

DeGette was also one of the Democrat managers of the second impeachment attempt against Trump during his first term.

She argued that Trump 'lit the fuse' on January 6th that started the riot at the Capitol.

Kiros also faces a huge disadvantage in fundraising, with DeGette holding a nearly $729,000 to $204,000 advantage in terms of cash raised through the end of last year.

However, the radical barista believes that getting people involved and promoting herself as a fighter can help her win the June 30 primary.

'The thing that we need to do to win is to give people enough faith that getting involved will make a difference,' she said at a recent rally.

The winner of the primary will likely be a heavy favorite to retain the seat, which represents the city of Denver.