Jessica Killin, an Army veteran and the former chief of staff to second gentleman Doug Emhoff, won the two-way Democratic primary in Colorado Springs’ congressional district Tuesday, teeing her up to lead what is perhaps her party’s best chance ever to win the seat.
The Associated Press called the race for Killin at 7:47 p.m., when she was leading Joe Reagan, a fellow Army veteran and nonprofit leader, by 26 percentage points.
Killin, who is running for public office for the first time, will face Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank in November, who is finishing up his first term in Congress. Crank ran unopposed in the primary this year.
Killin is trying to become the first Democrat to represent the 5th Congressional District in the five decades since it was created.
In a written statement Tuesday after winning the race, Killin said she is “ready for that fight.”
“We have been building a campaign that listens to people, understands the challenges facing Colorado families, veterans, and small businesses, and offers real solutions to the rising cost of living and the future of our district and country,” she said.
Killin has the backing of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which sees the district as in play for the first time. El Paso County has been trending leftward in recent cycles, and the DCCC is planning to invest major dollars in the district to flip the seat.
The DCCC in February added the 5th District to its list of “districts in play” and then added Killin to its red to blue program, putting further emphasis on the district.
National Democrats have reserved TV ad time in the Colorado Springs market in anticipation of the November race between Killin and Crank.
There are a number of factors working in Democrats’ favor in the 5th District.
First, they have a stronger 5th District candidate this year than they’ve likely ever had in Killin. She has already used her national political network to amass a large amount of campaign cash and had about $1.4 million in the bank June 10.
Secondly, the district — which is entirely contained within El Paso County — has been trending toward Democrats over the past decade.
In 2016, then-U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, won the district by 31 percentage points. By 2022, his margin of victory had shrunk to 16 percentage points. In 2024, Crank, running to succeed Lamborn after his retirement, won by 14 percentage points over Democrat River Gassen, a first-time candidate who raised little money and effectively had no party assistance.
Trump won El Paso County in 2024 by 10 points, down from 11 points in 2020. In 2016, however, he won the county by a whopping 22 points.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet lost El Paso County by 20 points in 2016. But he lost by 9 points in 2022.
The best sign for Democrats in the district is how Gov. Jared Polis has fared in recent election cycles. He lost his first gubernatorial campaign in El Paso County by 17 percentage points. In 2022, he lost it by just 4 points.