Jessica Killin pulled off the unthinkable. She defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Jeff Crank to become the first Democrat to represent Colorado’s 5th Congressional District.
The Associated Press called the race for Killin Thursday afternoon.
The district
Colorado’s 5th Congressional District was a focus among voters within the state and rest of the country. Since it was created in 1973, the district that represents Colorado Springs, Cimarron Hills, and the surrounding suburbs and military bases has been historically red.
Heading into the midterms, the Cook Political Report showed a shift from “Likely Red” to “Lean Red.” That highlighted a potential for the district to flip.
Two years ago, Colorado Springs was listed as one of the top 25 reddest metropolitan areas at a +11.2 margin. But since 2016, it has seen the second largest political shift among the top 30 metro areas at a +14.6.
In a poll conducted by Global Strategy Group and first reported by the Colorado Sun on Oct. 22, Killin held a slight lead over Crank 46% to 44%. The results found that the voters were somewhat split in their opinions of Killin. But, they held a more negative view of Crank – especially unaffiliated voters.
President Donald Trump won the district by 10 points in 2020 and nine points in 2024. According to the poll, 64% of undecided voters had an unfavorable view of Trump heading into the midterms.
According to the Federal Election Committee, Killin raised more funds than Crank.
Jessica Killin
If there was a candidate who could flip the mostly red district, it would be Killin. After winning the Democratic nomination in June, she said, “this isn’t your mother’s Colorado Springs.”
Killin ran on the platform of “Team Normal.” But, the Democratic nominee’s resume was far from normal. The fourth-generation Coloradan is a Falcon High School graduate.
Upon graduating from the University of Tampa, she was commissioned as an officer through Army ROTC and achieved the rank of captain. She also graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center and worked for USAA, a financial services company. She served as chief of staff to Second Gentleman of the United States Doug Emhoff.
Killin and her family moved to Colorado Springs to run for the district seat. Her deep political connections and military background made her a strong candidate since she launched her campaign last July.
She ran for the 5th District because she felt Crank failed to stand up for the community and distance himself from failed policies of the Trump administration. Killin felt that the people of the district craved change.
Killin defeated fellow Army veteran Joe Reagan to win the nomination within minutes of the polls closing in June’s Democratic Primary. Reagan had narrowly lost out on the nod back in 2022.
Jeff Crank
Crank, a former congressional staffer for former Rep. Joel Hefley, who represented the district from 1987-2007, was also a political consultant and radio host. He unsuccessfully ran twice against former Rep. Doug Lamborn before winning the Republican nomination for the district in 2024.
The 2026 GOP primary race proved to be very contentious. But, Crank managed to soundly defeat controversial party chair Dave Williams with 68% of the vote.
During Crank’s first term term, the district saw the U.S. Space Command permanently moved to the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. The command had been operating from Peterson Space Base in Colorado Springs since 2019 and reached full operational capacity by late 2023.
In response to the loss of the U.S. Space Command, Crank was able to work with the Trump administration to bring a $250 million Space Force Operations Facility to Shriever Space Force Base. Crank said the new facility should bring between 5,700 to 7,000 new jobs to the district.
Crank has sponsored and introduced nine bills over the last two years—three within the last two months. According to the bill tracker on congress.gov, none of them have yet to pass the House. Two notable pieces of legislation introduced by Crank are designed to address affordable housing.
The FRAMER Act (H.R. 7282) would eliminate green energy mandates. The First Time Homebuyer Debt Reduction Act (H.R. 10084) would require certain payments to federal student loans to the buyer of a home to be classified as a financial concession by the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Association.
Despite his proposals sitting idle in the House, Crank managed to get a resolution passed. The House passed H.R.1490, a non-binding resolution condemning socialism in all its forms. This includes the Democratic Socialist of America (DSA).
