Democratic Socialist Melat Kiros’ surprising defeat of 15-term Congresswoman Diana DeGette may be creating a void within Denver’s voter base — and at least one latecomer is jumping into that gap, petitioning to get himself on the November ballot as an independent candidate.
Dr. Shimon Blau told The Denver Gazette he spent the weekend stewing about the direction of the state’s politics following last week’s primary election and Kiros’ victory. On Monday, he carried out a frenzied exchange of phone calls with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office to obtain the right application.
Late that afternoon, Blau said, he filed the paperwork to petition for valid signatures in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District. If he can come up with 1,500 of those by Thursday afternoon at 5 p.m., he could end up facing off as an independent candidate against Kiros and Republican candidate Christy Peterson of South Denver…