An unaffiliated candidate who launched a last-minute campaign to represent Denver in Congress will be on the November ballot.
Shimon Blau submitted more than enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, the Colorado secretary of state’s office announced Friday. Blausubmittedabout 2,200 petition signatures after three days of collecting signatures earlier this month, and just over 1,900 were verified by the secretary of state’s office. Candidates must submit 1,500 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.
Blau, a doctor,announcedhis candidacy in a now-private Facebook post. He said in a video on his Facebook that he is a “true independent” who leans left on social issues and right on fiscal issues.
Concern for what he views as antisemitic rhetoric from Democratic nominee Melat Kiros is what motivated Blau, who is Jewish, to run for Colorado’s 1st Congressional District, he said in the Facebook post. Maintaining a strong alliance with Israel is a priority of his campaign, as well as healthcare and childcare reform.
Kiros wasfiredfrom her job as a corporate attorney in late 2023 after she posted an open letter defending students protesting Israel’s war in Gaza from charges of antisemitism. Throughout her campaign, she has been critical of Israel’s military operation in Gaza, whichU.N. bodiesandhuman rights groupssay amounts to a genocide. She facedcriticismfor an interview in which she declined to call the deadly June 2025 firebombing attack in Boulder an act of antisemitism.
In the June Democratic primary election, Kiros, a 29-year-old democratic socialist, defeated U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, a 15-term incumbent who took office four months before Kiros was born, by more than 20,000 votes. Her upset victory followed progressive wins in New York congressional primaries.
Blau filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission on July 21. He has not responded to attempts from Newsline to contact him by phone and email since he announced his candidacy.
The general election is on Nov. 3. Republican Christy Peterson is also running for the seat. The district heavily favors Democrats.
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