Headlines Wednesday, July 1, 2026
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Kiros defeats DeGette; Weiser wins Democratic nomination for Governor; Aspen Acres Fire destroys more than 150 structures KGNU News
Kiros defeats DeGette
Democratic Socialist Melat Kiros defeated thirty-year incumbent U.S. Representative Diana DeGette in Tuesday’s Colorado Primary election, and is being called the odds-on favorite to win a seat in Congress in the general election this November.
Her win in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District is the latest in a series of primary wins by progressives nationwide. In last night’s victory speech, Kiros said that progressives are taking back the Democratic Party and the country, and credited her grassroots support with her win.
She also said that she’ll take the fight to “Donald Trump and the oligarchy,” with the aim of abolishing ICE, passing Medicare for All, and ending what she termed the genocide in Palestine.
Senator John Hickenlooper won his primary against challenger Julie Gonzales. He too vowed to continue to fight against Trump. He’ll face Republican Mark Baisley this fall.
Weiser wins Democratic nomination for Governor
Also yesterday, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser won the Democratic nomination for Colorado governor, over U.S. Senator Michael Bennet. Weiser said he won the nomination through his grassroots approach, saying that “We the people – not the establishment – choose our leaders.”
Weiser took shots at those who claimed the race was a “coronation” for Bennet and the “out of state billionaires” that were backing his campaign. The Associated Press called the race around 8 pm. Bennet’s spokesperson said that Bennet called Weiser shortly after to concede. Weiser led Bennet by 10 percentage points, winning 55% of the votes by 10:40pm.
Weiser will face the winner of the three-way Republican primary, which at last word was still too close to call. This will be the first open race since 2018 when Gov. Jared Polis was elected. Weiser says he will continue to run his campaign of “how I fight for the people of Colorado.”
Aspen Acres Fire destroys more than 150 structures
The Aspen Acres Fire that began spreading through parts of southern Colorado on Monday was confirmed to have destroyed 55 homes in Custer County and more than 100 structures in Pueblo.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the wildfire had grown to 28,314 acres, and had been contained. The towns of Beulah, Rye and San Isabel were all evacuated to a center in Pueblo.
As of now, what started the fire is still unknown, but as of now, there has been no casualties and only one injury.
Western Boulder County under stage 2 fire restrictions
Boulder County enacted stage two fire restrictions for the mountain area of the unincorporated county midday yesterday due to hot and dry conditions and drought conditions.
Officials urged residents of the area to be extremely careful, as any activity with a spark, such as fireworks, could start a wildfire due to these high fire risk conditions.
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