Unaffiliated congressional candidate Shimon Blau, a Denver doctor, has qualified by petition for the general election in Colorado’s 1st District, where Democrat Melat Kiros defeated 15-term U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette in last month’s primary, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office said Friday.

Blau, a newcomer to politics, submitted just shy of 2,000 valid signatures on July 8 days after starting his petition drive in response to Kiros’s upset primary win over DeGette.

Election officials said 1,918 of the 2,212 signatures gathered by Blau were accepted, easily clearing the 1,500 signature requirement.

In a statement, Blau thanked volunteers and those who signed his petition.

“Now the real work begins, he said in the statement.

“I want the people of Denver to know this: if elected, I will not
hesitate to stand up to the Trump administration whose policies
are harming the people of Colorado’s First Congressional
District and undermining the values we share.”

Blau, who operates a medical practice devoted to pain management, said previously he was moved to run by comments made by Kiros, a Democratic socialist, and her supporters during the campaign, which he characterized as “antisemitic” rhetoric.

Blau announced his candidacy only days after Kiros’ surprise defeat of the 15-term congresswoman in the Democratic primary, and had only three days to amass 1,500 valid signatures on petitions. The secretary’s office said he easily passed the threshold.

Blau was one of three candidates for U.S. House seats that were approved for the Nov. 3 general election ballot, the office announced. Samir Ezzeldin Witta qualified to run in District 6, representing metropolitan Arapahoe County; and Joe Krzeczkowski qualified to run in District 7, covering Jefferson, Clear Creek, Park Teller, Fremont, Custer, Chaffee and Lake counties.

The 1st Congressional District , representing most of the City and County of Denver, has drawn significant national attention following Kiros’ victory. National media were quick to draw comparisons of her campaign with two other Democratic socialists, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, who had come to symbolize the gains by the Democratic Party’s progressive wing.

Supporters of Blau told The Denver Gazette they were surprised at the high percentage of signatures that passed the election office’s review.

“This is a serious campaign,” said the supporter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely express his views, adding Blau would likely name a campaign manager and finance manager, and along with a new web site, by Monday.

“Some of her more radical, socialist ideas bother me,” Blau had told The Denver Gazette.

Kiros has described Israel’s response in Gaza and Lebanon to the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas as “genocide” and called for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel. In an interview with Colorado Politics news partner 9News, she declined to say whether she viewed the June 1, 2025, firebomb attack by an Egyptian national against a peaceful group of protestors on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall as an example of antisemitism.

“I want to give people a voice,” Blau told The Denver Gazette. He said he considers himself “much more of a moderate. I tend to lean to the left on social issues and right on the fiscal ones.”

Kiros said she’s ready to ask voters to decide.

“Denver voters will get a chance in November to choose who they want fighting for them in Congress,” she told Colorado Politics in a text message. “I’m fighting for working people, families, renters, tipped workers, folks drowning in medical debt who deserve a better future. I plan to make my case directly the people of this district because that is what it means to live in a democracy.”

The district, with boundaries that coincide almost exactly with Denver, is one of the most overwhelmingly Democratic congressional seats in the country. Its voters haven’t sent a Republican to Congress since 1970.

Republican Christy Peterson, Libertarian Chad Humphrey and Unity Party nominee Christopher “Critter” Milton will also appear on the 1st CD ballot.