For the first time since congressional Democrats set up an organization to oust vulnerable Republicans in key districts, Colorado Springs is on the target list.
The group, called the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), made the unprecedented move due to what it sees as “Democrats’ consistent overperformance” in recent special elections and voters’ “souring” on Colorado Springs Congressperson Jeff Crank’s (R-CO) “wildly unpopular record of raising costs, attacking affordable health care, and hurting working families.”
The only other Colorado seat on the DCCC list is occupied by U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO), who represents the area north and east of Denver. He won by fewer than 2,500 votes in 2024 and is widely considered one of the most vulnerable Republican House members in the country.
Crank, whose office didn’t immediately return a request for comment, is a former right-wing radio host, political consultant, and staffer for the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity.
In Congress, Crank has been a loyal Trump supporter, backing Medicaid and Obamacare cuts, and even voting against releasing the Epstein files after calling for transparency. He blamed Renee Good’s death on her, saying it was “simply the rule of law.” A social conservative, Crank favors a national abortion ban and has called abortion “mostly a convenience.” He once objected on air to gay men kissing on television. Ironically, when Crank first ran for Congress in 2006 — but lost — his primary opponent hit voters with misinformation, allegedly orchestrated by fellow Republican Jon Hotaling and others, that Crank supported the “homosexual agenda.”
Ballotpedia lists five Democrats running in a primary to take on Crank: Jessica Killin, Justice Lord, Joe Reagan, Jamey Smith, and Michelle Tweed.
“Jeff Crank is failing Coloradans. Instead of fighting for families, Crank is spending his time in Washington protecting reckless tariffs, gutting health care to pay for tax cuts for billionaires, and refusing to push back against disastrous cuts to the VA that hurt veterans and military families,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene in a statement. “Crank is everything that Coloradans hate about Congress: a rubber stamp for policies that cater to the ultra-wealthy and well-connected at the expense of hardworking people. The DCCC will make sure that come November, Colorado’s Fifth Congressional District elects a representative that finally puts them first.”
Voters in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District (CD-5) have never elected a Democrat since it was created after the 1970 Census. It was first represented by William Armstrong, who went on to become a U.S. Senator.
Crank won the seat in 2024, after the retirement of Doug Lamborn, who served nine terms.
