U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn made it official Wednesday that he’s seeking re-election to represent Colorado’s 5th Congressional District.

The Colorado Springs Republican cited his seniority on key committees and experience steering federal policy in Washington, D.C. as reasons he hopes voters hire him for another two-year term.

“Coloradans deserve a leader with a proven, conservative voting record,” Lamborn said. “I will never waver when it comes to putting America first.”

First elected to the heavily Republican seat in 2006, the attorney and former state lawmaker has had to make it past primary opponents in all but two of his runs for Congress. This year, he’s facing primary challenges from state Rep. Dave Williams, R-Colorado Springs, and Navy veteran Rebecca Keltie, who ran last cycle as a third-party candidate. Several Democrats have also declared candidacies for the seat.

Lamborn told Colorado Politics that his recent designation as the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces positions him to have more of a say in beefing up national security while at the same time allowing him to protect the interests of the district.

Lamborn noted that if the GOP wins the majority in the House next year – as looks increasingly likely – he’s in line to chair the subcommittee, which is devoted to legislation concerning nuclear weapons, missile defense and the military’s mission in space.

Boasting one of the nation’s most heavy military presences, the 5th Congressional District will virtually coincide with the boundaries of El Paso County under maps adopted last fall by an independent redistricting commission. The district is home to five military installations and some 40,000 active-duty troops, including the Air Force Academy and bases that run military satellites, control the nation’s missile defense and protect the continent from attack.

“It’s an amazing opportunity,” Lamborn said. “There are so many missions that go on in the Pikes Peak region that are in those different areas that I have two things I can do at the same time: I can help our national security be stronger and better funded, better equipped and cutting edge, and help the missions that are here locally – make sure that they’re protected and established and successful. This subcommittee has everything to do with what’s so special about El Paso County and the military presence here.”

Lamborn said he anticipates decisions soon from a pair of federal entities investigating former President Donald Trump’s decision a year ago to move the headquarters of U.S. Space Command from its temporary home in Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama. Lamborn and other members of Colorado’s delegation have called on President Biden to revisit the decision, which they allege was made for political reasons and contradicted the Air Force’s internal assessment.

The Pentagon’s inspector general and the congressional Government Accountability Office are examining the decision, with reports expected in coming weeks.

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed that they will recognize some of the same problems that we saw, that the selection process was very arbitrary almost based on a whim on the part of President Trump, because he likes Alabama and doesn’t really particularly like Colorado,” Lamborn said, noting that Trump said as much last year on an Alabama radio show. “And if either the GAO or the IG come up with problems in how the process went down, that gives us a hook to revisit the whole issue.”

As important, Lamborn said, is the chance to keep fighting the Democrats.

“Throughout my time in Congress, I have dedicated my time and strength to defending our Constitution, fortifying our national security, strengthening our economy, advocating for our veterans and those bravely serving our country, and protecting our traditional values,” he said. “I have pushed back time and time again against the Democrats’ outrageous spending, unconstitutional mandates, weakness on defense, assaults on the Second Amendment and open-border policies.”

Added Lamborn: “With Joe Biden as our president for the next several years, it is critical that we flip the House and the Senate and stop his far-left agenda in its tracks. I will continue leading the fight against the progressive agenda of the left, which will take away our freedoms and prosperity and replace them with big government programs and uncontrolled debt.”

Routinely ranked among the House’s most conservative members, Lamborn was named a “Taxpayer Superhero” last year, receiving a perfect score from the national Council for Citizens Against Government Waste.

Lamborn said that despite the 5th District losing several mountain counties to the Jefferson County-based 7th District in the redistricting process, his seat on the House Natural Resources Committee remains an important perch to maintain oversight on policy affecting Colorado’s vast holdings of public lands. 

“When you’re on the committee for a number of years, you develop a lot of background that’s helpful. You know the issues, you know the problems, you know the opportunities, you know some of the people in the bureaucracy who can help or hurt the process,” he said. “There are advantages to staying on a committee because you’ve got some institutional knowledge.”

He said constituents benefit from the experience he’s gained in 15 years in the House.

“The federal government is so big and sprawling and powerful – it’s like peeling back layers of an onion, and it takes a long time to start to learn how things are done within the bureaucracy. You learn how to make the system work for the benefit of your district and to change the direction of things or even to know how to get an amendment into law,” Lamborn said, noting that he successfully sponsored roughly 50 amendments in this year’s mammoth defense spending bill.

“Plus, you learn how to stop the bad things. All of that is easier once you’ve seen how the system works from the inside,” he said. 

Lamborn said he plans to embark on two paths to win a berth on the June 28 primary ballot: circulating petitions and going through caucuses and the party assembly process. Candidates can begin circulating nominating petitions this week – it takes 1,000 valid signatures from members of their party to make the ballot for U.S. House candidates – and precinct caucuses take place the first week of March.

Taking both routes is insurance against the close calls Lamborn experienced in 2016 and 2018, when he nearly missed making the ballot. In 2016, a conservative activist surprised Lamborn at the district assembly by winning almost enough support to keep him out of the primary, and in 2018 a federal court had to step in to reverse a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that had removed Lamborn from the primary over petition irregularities.

Williams told Colorado Politics he relishes the upcoming primary.

“With our new congressional district, we should elect a new congressman who is 100% pro-life, 100% pro-second Amendment and 100% pro-election integrity, and with a proven record of authentic Christian service to others, I’m happy to give the voters that choice in the 5th district,” he said in a text message.