Democratic congressional candidate Matt Cavanaugh said Wednesday that he was ending his bid to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank in Colorado’s 5th District because the firm his campaign hired to gather petition signatures failed to deliver.

Cavanaugh, an Army combat veteran and author, registered as a Democrat in late December after launching an independent run a few months earlier in the district, which covers all but a few precincts in El Paso County.

“We do not have the required signatures to turn in,” Cavanaugh told Colorado Politics. “As a result, I’m dead in the water.”

Cavanaugh said that even though he won’t be a candidate, he plans to do what he can to help Democrats win control of the House.

“Due to Congressman Crank’s unwillingness to be a check on Donald Trump, health care costs are spiraling, and everyday essentials are becoming even more unaffordable, while elites in Washington get tax breaks and special treatment,” Cavanaugh said. “To get our country back on track, Democrats must win control of Congress this November. While I won’t be a candidate on the ballot, I’ll do my part to ensure that happens.”

His withdrawal from the race on the same day petitions are due leaves two Democrats in the June 30 primary, since Army veterans Jessica Killin and Joe Reagan qualified for the ballot at Saturday’s congressional district assembly in Colorado Springs.

Crank, who is serving his first term and is unopposed in the Republican primary, made the ballot by petition earlier this month and is also pursuing his party’s designation to the primary at the GOP’s upcoming congressional district assembly.

Although the district’s voters haven’t sent a Democrat to Congress since the seat was created in 1972, the race has drawn unusually high attention from Democrats this year. For the first time, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has targeted the seat, which is ranked as “likely Republican” by nonpartisan election forecasters, citing double-digit swings to the left in nearly every special election conducted since Trump took office.

Also, for the first time, one of the Democrats hoping to run in the district out-raised the Republican in the year before the election. Killin, a former chief of staff to then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ spouse, Doug Emhoff, hauled in more than $1.65 million last year, ahead of the $1.4 million Crank raised through his principle campaign committee.

Crank won the seat in 2024 by roughly 14 points, a margin that was 5 points wider than Trump’s advantage over then-Vice President Kamala Harris among the district’s voters.

In Colorado, candidates can qualify for the Republican and Democratic primaries by winning enough delegate votes via the caucus and assembly process, by turning in a sufficient number of valid signatures on petitions, or by taking both routes. Congressional candidates who petition have to submit 1,500 signatures from fellow party members by

Because he didn’t become a Democrat until the end of last year, Cavanaugh was prohibited by a recently adopted party rule from going through the assembly, so he was forced to seek a spot in the primary by petitioning.

Cavanaugh told Colorado Politics that TouchStone, the Minneapolis-based firm his campaign retained to circulate petitions, assured him that it had taken steps to correct problems that led to its spectacular failure to gather enough valid signatures for a legislative candidate earlier this year, but the firm still came up short.

The same firm collected 1,635 signatures for Aurora Democrat Eric Nelson, who was running in House District 42, but the Secretary of State’s Office said last month that only 29 of the signatures Nelson turned in met requirements, leaving him far short of the 1,000 needed to make the ballot.

“After contracting with the firm, we learned through news reports that TouchStone had utterly failed at gathering valid signatures on behalf of a candidate in another race,” Cavanaugh said. “Unfortunately, my campaign is also a victim of this firm’s malfeasance.”

Cavanaugh said he’s considering taking legal action against the company.

“We paid them roughly the amount of money it would cost to buy a car. they provided us with roughly two-thirds of a car. and when you have two-thirds of a car, you can’t drive a car,” Cavanaugh said. “I do think that this firm, TouchStone, needs to be held to account. Twice like this in a row is inexcusable.”

He added that campaign volunteers began circulating petitions after TouchStone’s performance in the other race came to light, but the effort wasn’t enough to make up the paid firm’s shortfall.

“In the end, we were still several hundred valid signatures away from 1,500, to the point where we felt it was not even appropriate to turn in our signatures and waste the Secretary of State’s time,” Cavanaugh said. “If I thought we had even a sliver of a chance, I would have submitted our petitions.”

Nathan Bowman, a co-founder and partner at TouchStone, told Colorado Politics that his firm “ran a full petition program for the campaign” and collected over 2,700 signatures, well above the required number. He said that the firm urged Cavanaugh to submit them.

“As is typical in petition efforts, the Secretary of State’s review process ultimately determines validity,” Bowman said in an email. “We advised the campaign to submit the petitions, considering the total volume collected and the potential for additional validation through the state’s process. The campaign ultimately chose not to submit.”

Added Bowman: “We understand the outcome is disappointing and take that seriously. Petition qualification is inherently variable. We approach each engagement by focusing on executing a strong field program and giving campaigns the best possible chance to qualify.”

The two Democrats vying to challenge Crank said they appreciated what Cavanaugh brought to the campaign.

“I am grateful to Matt and his service to our nation,” Killin said in a text message. “I also appreciate his willingness to stand up for our democracy and fight for a better Pikes Peak Region.”

Reagan hinted that he’ll seek Cavanaugh’s support.

“It’ll take a broad coalition to win in November,” Reagan said in a text message. “I’d love to team up with Matt to work together towards getting this district better representation.”

Cavanaugh told Colorado Politics that he’s working to wind down his campaign, but he doesn’t know whether he’ll endorse one of his former rivals before the primary.

“I still feel very much like this isn’t the country I spent 25 years fighting for,” he said. “It’s just not. And I don’t want that for my kids. There’s this itch that I haven’t scratched that we need something different, we need something better, and I want to be a part of that. Unfortunately, as a candidate, I won’t be.”

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