Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank and Jessica Killin, one of the Democrats challenging the first-term incumbent, have both qualified for the primary ballot in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District after turning in a sufficient number of petition signatures, state election officials said this week.

Crank is seeking the GOP nomination without opposition in the Republican-leaning district, whose boundaries nearly coincide with El Paso County, while Killin is one of five Democrats running in her party’s primary.

Both candidates submitted well over the required number of 1,500 valid signatures from fellow party members. According to the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, 2,442 of the 3,174 signatures gathered by Crank were valid, as were 2,204 of the 3,511 signatures Killin submitted.

“I’m so grateful for all of the support from voters who signed the petition and the volunteers who are committed to reaching out to all corners of El Paso County to flip this district,” said Killin, a first-time candidate, in a statement.

Crank’s campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment about word his petitions had been deemed sufficient.

A former radio host and longtime political operative, Crank won the seat two years ago following the retirement of fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, who represented the district for nine terms. Crank won the GOP nomination by defeating former state Rep. Dave Williams, who was then the chairman of the Colorado Republican Party. In November, Crank won election by a nearly 14-point margin, running about 5 points ahead of President Donald Trump’s performance in the district.

This year, for the first time in memory, national Democrats are targeting the district, which has only sent Republicans to Congress since its creation in 1972.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the 5th CD to its list of “districts in play” last month, citing double-digit over-performance by Democratic candidates in special elections across the country since Trump took office. Additionally, the district’s electorate has swung toward Democratic candidates faster than any other congressional district’s in the country over the last decade.

Leading an unusually crowded field of Democrats, Killin, an Army veteran and former chief of staff to second gentleman Doug Emhoff, started the year with not only a wide fundraising lead over her primary rivals but also — again for the first time in memory — more cash in her campaign account than the Republican incumbent. After raising more than $1.6 million last year, Killin had $1.1 million on hand, ahead of the nearly $1 million reported by Crank.

The four other Democrats vying for a spot in the June primary are banking on making the ballot by a variety of methods, including petitioning, going through the assembly process or taking both routes.

Joe Reagan, an Army veteran and nonprofit head who ran for the seat in 2024, is in the latter category, with plans to turn in his petition signatures before the March 18 deadline while also seeking delegate support at Saturday’s district assembly, his campaign told Colorado Politics.

It takes the votes of 30% of assembly delegates to qualify for the primary, though candidates whose petitions are also sufficient need to clear just 10% delegate support.

Like Reagan, Killin is also taking both paths to the ballot.

Army veteran and author Matt Cavanaugh, who launched his campaign last year as an independent candidate but switched to the Democratic primary in early January, is pursuing the primary solely by petition. His campaign said Wednesday that he plans to submit his signatures early next week.

The Democrats who have bypassed the petition route and are attempting to make the ballot at the assembly are nonprofit head and community activist Zurit Zuriel Horowitz and longtime activist Justice Lord.

The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office has until late April to determine whether petitioning candidates qualify for the primary.