Democratic congressional candidates Jessica Killin and Joe Reagan secured spots Saturday in Colorado’s June primary to decide who will run against Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank in a district that’s only ever sent GOP lawmakers to Congress.

The two Democrats, however, told delegates at the party’s nominating assembly in Colorado Springs that the 5th Congressional District is primed to flip this year, and each made a case that they’re the one to do it.

Crank, a former radio host and longtime political operative serving his first term, won election in 2024 by nearly 14 points at the same time President Donald Trump carried the district’s electorate by about 9 points — both margins outside what is typically considered competitive territory.

But for the first time ever, national Democrats are targeting the district, which covers all but a few precincts in El Paso County, citing double-digits swings toward Democratic candidates in races across the country since Trump took office. In addition, the 5th CD, once known as a GOP stronghold, has been moving faster toward the Democrats than any other congressional district in the country across the last decade.

Killin and Reagan, who are both Army veterans, said that the record turnout at their party’s county and congressional district assemblies — more than 600 Democrats showed up at Wasson High School for the confabs — points toward a sea change in the November midterm election.

Killin, a former chief of staff to Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, won top-line designation on the primary ballot, with 39.6% of the delegate vote. Reagan, a nonprofit head who also sought the nomination in 2024, landed in this year’s primary with 34.2% of the vote, above the 30% threshold required to make the ballot.

Democrats Zurit Zuriel Horowitz and Justice Lord fell short, receiving 25.2% and 0.9%, respectively.

Since she’d already qualified for the primary by turning in enough valid petition signatures, Killin only needed to clear 10% at the assembly. Crank, who doesn’t have a primary challenger, has also qualified by petition.

A third potential primary candidate, Army veteran and author Matt Cavanaugh, who registered as a Democrat in January after running for months as an independent, is circulating petitions and plans to turn them in before Wednesday’s deadline, his campaign told Colorado Politics.

“We need people in Congress who know and understand how to get the job done, and that is who I am,” Killin told the crowd at the assembly. “I have seen the good, the bad, the ugly in D.C., and I am ready to hit the ground running and work for you and deliver actual results for this community.”

Reagan said his years of experience in the region has prepared him to take on the incumbent.

“Wherever you are on the political spectrum, we need leaders who have already gained the trust of our community by getting out there and doing the hard work that is required to lead and lead effectively, because this race is no longer about Democrats vs. Republicans,” he said. “This race is about MAGA vs. the rest of us, and we all need to come together to do that.”

Killin enters the primary with an enormous financial advantage after raising more than $1.6 million last year, more than any Democratic candidate for the seat has ever pulled in during an off year. She finished 2025 with over $1.1 million on hand, ahead of Crank’s roughly $1 million, and dwarfing the roughly $18,000 Reagan had in campaign funds.

“Make no mistake, this is going to be a fight,” Killin told delegates. “It is going to be a slog, and it is going to start in this room with all of you. We must come to get together and unite to defeat Jeff Crank, and I have the operation that can and will do that.”

Reagan said his campaign is designed to match Killin’s on the ground ahead of the primary.

“I have built the volunteer infrastructure, community relationships and cross-partisan credibility that no dollar amount can replicate,” he said in a statement. “The coalition built through the years of service in our community will shape the leadership we bring to Washington and help us defeat Jeff Crank.”

A spokesman for Crank’s campaign declined to comment on the Democrats’ primary race taking shape.

Primary ballots go out in early June and are due back to county clerks by June 30.