Colorado Springs, Colorado: Jessica Killin Flips the Fifth District to Become Its First Democrat in Congress

Democrat Jessica Killin has unseated Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank in Colorado's 5th Congressional District, becoming the first Democrat voters there have ever sent to Congress.

The Associated Press called the race for Killin at 12:38 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5, two days after polls closed. At the call, Killin led Crank by nearly five percentage points, 50.6 percent to 46 percent, with Libertarian Mark Elworth Jr. at 1.8 percent. Unofficial returns posted by the Colorado Secretary of State at 1:18 p.m. on Thursday showed Killin with 140,713 votes to Crank's 127,946, a margin of 12,767 votes out of 278,287 ballots counted in the race. The results remain unofficial, and El Paso County, which makes up the whole district, had not finished its post-election reporting.

A district that had never flipped

The 5th District covers Colorado Springs, Cimarron Hills and the suburbs and military bases around them. It was created in 1973, and every member it sent to Congress before this week was a Republican. Crank won the seat in 2024 by 14 points, and President Donald Trump carried El Paso County that year by about 10 points.

The district had been moving toward Democrats in recent years, and forecasters rated the race more competitive as the fall went on. A Global Strategy Group poll reported by the Colorado Sun on Oct. 22 put Killin ahead of Crank 46 percent to 44 percent. Voters who spoke with reporters on election week pointed to prices at the gas pump and the grocery store, and to Killin's Army service in a city shaped by its military bases.

The money race

The 5th District race was the second most expensive congressional race in Colorado this year, behind only the 8th District north of Denver, with more than $7 million in super PAC spending, most of it spent to benefit Crank. Through Oct. 14, Crank reported raising about $3 million and spending about $2.5 million. Killin reported raising about $5.6 million, including more than $1 million of her own money, and spending roughly $5 million.

Two Army and Washington resumes

Killin grew up in Colorado Springs and graduated from Falcon High School. She was commissioned as an Army officer through ROTC at the University of Tampa and reached the rank of captain. She later graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, worked for USAA, and served as chief of staff to Doug Emhoff, with the rank of deputy assistant to President Joe Biden. She beat fellow Army veteran Joe Reagan in the June Democratic primary. State records show she registered to vote in Colorado in July 2025 and launched her campaign at about the same time.

Crank was born and raised in Pueblo. He worked as a staffer for former Rep. Joel Hefley in the 1990s, held leadership roles at Americans for Prosperity and hosted a conservative radio program in Colorado Springs. He ran for Congress and lost in 2006 and 2008, then won the seat in 2024 after Rep. Doug Lamborn chose not to run again. His campaign leaned on the tax cuts he voted for in Washington and on attacks on Killin's background.

Killin is set to take office in January as part of the incoming House. County canvass boards must still certify the results before they become official.