U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette is a solid Democratic voice from Colorado’s solid Democratic 1st Congressional District. She’s also a leading champion of women’s rights at a time when women’s rights are a subject of furious political battles.

Election analysts expect she’ll waltz into reelection this year.

But DeGette is also chief deputy whip in the House, head of the chamber’s Pro-Choice Caucus and the senior member of the Colorado delegation, who has been serving on Capitol Hill for two decades.

That makes her a ripe target in an anti-establishment year where surprises have lurked around every corner and political pundits have been wrong or dead wrong much of the time.

DeGette’s primary opponent this year is Chuck Norris — the geologist and progressive-politics volunteer, not the current conservative-politics celebrity and former martial arts TV star.

Norris won 37 percent of the vote at Saturday’s Democratic Party assembly, enough support to make the primary election ballot. DeGette pulled down 67 percent of the vote.

Making the ballot is a big hurdle for Norris to clear in the race. Making it with just 37 percent of the vote is also measure of the hill Norris has yet to climb — especially given that Norris has been running to unseat DeGette for the last two years.

“I hope to get better representation for the 1st Congressional District,” he told The Colorado Statesman. He said the district deserves a stronger voice on the environment and campaign finance reform.

“I think that the candidate we’ve all voted for over the past eight to ten cycles has become representative of Washington … I’m far more aggressive on global warming. I’m far more aggressive on getting rid of Citizens United. Not just the financing aspects of it, but the personification that corporations have rights under the Constitution.”

It doesn’t bode well for DeGette that the crowd favored “outsider” Democratic Party presidential candidate Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton and yet DeGette connected well with the voters. She touted her positions on gay rights and climate change and hammered home the value to her constituents of her experience in Congress.

“When the Democrats retake the majority, I want to be there as a leader to make sure that we can move forward the progress that Dr. (Martin Luther) King spoke so eloquently about,” she said.

— ramsey@coloradostatesman.com