U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn on Thursday became the first Colorado congressional candidate to turn in nominating petitions for the June primary to the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office.

“I look forward to a spirited campaign if there are any other people that make the ballot,” the Colorado Springs Republican, who is seeking a ninth term, told Colorado Politics.

Lamborn is facing three primary challengers, led by state Rep. Dave Williams, R-Colorado Springs. Four Democrats and four unaffiliated candidates have also filed to run in the heavily Republican 5th Congressional District, which covers most of El Paso County.

“I’m going to be running as a solid and committed conservative who doesn’t just talk the talk but walks the walk,” Lamborn said. “Some of the people making noises about running either have no record or, if they have a record, it’s a very sketchy record as a conservative.”

Lamborn relied entirely on campaign staff and volunteers rather than hiring a firm to gather the more than 3,000 signatures from Republican voters, he said. That’s twice the 1,500 signatures needed for congressional candidates to qualify for the June 28 primary ballot.

“We had a really strong contingent of dedicated volunteers and some good people we hired as well on a case-by-case basis. They did a great job,” Lamborn said. “My wife, Jeanne, helped as a campaign manager.”

In 2018, Lamborn nearly missed making the ballot until a federal court reversed a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that threw out signatures gathered by a Colorado Springs petition firm.

Lamborn has had to get past primary challengers in all but two of his eight successful runs for the congressional seat, which he first won when it was an open seat in 2006.

“There’s a lot of intensity and excitement among Republicans that, if we do what we need to, we’ll change who controls Washington in November,” Lamborn said. “We’re going to be able to take back the House and maybe the Senate and stop the things Joe Biden is doing.”

Candidates who turn in their petitions ahead of their primary rivals have an advantage because a voter can only sign one candidate’s petition for the same office. Once a voter’s signature has been ruled valid for one candidate, the same voter can’t be counted on a petition submitted later by a potential primary opponent. Two of the Republicans running against Lamborn – Rebecca Keltie and Christopher Mitchell – are also attempting to petition into the primary.

Petitioners have until March 15 to submit signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office, which processes petitions in the order they’re received.

Lamborn also plans to take the caucus and assembly route, which requires winning the votes of at lest 30% of delegates to the April congressional district assembly. That process kicks off in El Paso County on March 1 at Republican precinct caucuses. (Other county parties are holding caucuses later during the first week of March.)

While the top vote-getter at assembly wins top-line on the primary ballot, taking both routes can be risky, since candidates who fall short of 10% delegate support can’t qualify for the ballot by petition, even if they have turned in enough valid signatures.

Williams, the only Lamborn primary challenger who isn’t circulating petitions, said he’s ready to compete with the incumbent for delegate votes.

“I’ll be the first to welcome Doug to our grassroots assembly so he stops hiding from voters and comes clean on his liberal voting record, weak leadership and numerous corruption violations,” Williams said in a text message.

The House Ethics Committee is reviewing allegations made by a former Lamborn staffer that the congressman misused official resources for personal purposes, following a finding last month by a separate congressional office that Lamborn may have violated federal laws and House rules.

The Office of Congressional Ethics recommended that the bipartisan panel look into a complaint that Lamborn’s aides were required to perform tasks for the lawmaker’s family and his campaign, as well as the possibility Lamborn “solicited or accepted improper gifts from subordinates” on birthdays and holidays.

Lamborn told Colorado Politics that he expects the ethics committee will announce its verdict before the primary.

“I hope it will because I have every confidence I’m going to be exonerated,” he said. “The charges are bogus, and they stem from a disgruntled former employee who’s trying to win a boatload of money in court and has, unfortunately, been telling things that aren’t true.”

The ethics committee is looking into charges first raised in a lawsuit filed in May 2021 by Brandon Pope, a former military advisor on Lamborn’s congressional staff, who alleged Lamborn and key aides took a “reckless and dangerous” approach to pandemic safety and fired Pope after he raised concerns about workplace conditions. Lamborn has denied the accusations.