Sunrise Movement Pushes Anti-War Candidates, Endorsing Melat Kiros in Denver

The Sunrise Movement, a youth-led activist group, is endorsing Melat Kiros, a 28-year-old anti-war attorney, in her challenge to Rep. Diana DeGette in Denver, as part of a broader strategy to boost progressive candidates opposing U.S. military spending and AIPAC influence. Kiros was fired for refusing to take down a post about genocide in Palestine and has criticized DeGette for receiving over $5 million from corporate PACs, including from a firm chaired by a former AIPAC vice president. The endorsement reflects Sunrise's pivot from climate activism to fighting what it calls the "broken political system," arguing that endless wars abroad drain resources from domestic priorities like healthcare and housing. Kiros and other Sunrise-backed challengers, including William Lawrence in Michigan and Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania, are betting that anti-war messaging will resonate with Democratic primary voters, though two recent Sunrise-endorsed candidates lost their primaries by narrow margins. The strategy hinges on messaging that corporate PAC and AIPAC money makes lawmakers complicit in wars—a narrative Sunrise organizers say has gained traction since the Trump administration's escalation in Iran.