The House Democrats’ campaign arm on Monday added Jessica Killin to its nationwide “Red to Blue” program in Colorado’s Republican-leaning 5th Congressional District, calling the first-time candidate a “top-tier” challenger in a seat the party is aiming to flip in this year’s midterm elections.

Killin, an Army veteran and former chief of staff to second gentleman Doug Emhoff, is facing fellow veteran and nonprofit leader Joe Reagan in the June primary for the chance to take on Colorado Springs Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank, a former podcaster and longtime political operative serving his first term.

Killin was one of eight new candidates added this week to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s program, which provides advice, fundraising and staff support to candidates whose campaigns have met organizational and financial benchmarks, the group said.

U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, the Democrat from Washington state who chairs the DCCC, called Killin a “dedicated public servant with a proven track record of delivering for families” in a statement announcing the program’s expansion.

“While Jeff Crank caters to extremists, guts health care and undermines our servicemembers and veterans, Killin is proving to Coloradans that she is the independent leader they deserve in Washington,” DelBene said. “Killin has never forgotten where she comes from, and she will win this seat.”

The DCCC added the 5th CD to its list of targeted districts earlier this year, noting that the historically Republican district’s electorate has trended faster toward Democrats than any other seat in the country over the last decade. National election forecasters rank the seat as “likely Republican.”

Although the district, which shares its boundaries almost precisely with El Paso County, hasn’t ever sent a Democrat to Congress, Killin headed into the primary with a fundraising advantage over both her primary rival and the incumbent. After raising more than $2.2 million through the end of March, Killin reported $1.5 million on hand at the end of the first quarter, ahead of the $1.17 million reported by Crank and Reagan’s $33,000.

Killin said she was encouraged by her inclusion on the “Red to Blue” list, calling the designation a recognition of “the momentum for change that we’ve long felt locally.”

“El Paso County deserves a representative who will deliver results and put people over partisanship,” Killin said in a statement that criticized Crank for backing Trump administration policies while declining to hold any in-person town halls with constituents. “I am a patriot, I love my country, and I will always put the people of the Pikes Peak Region first and bring competence, courage and character to Washington.”

Reagan characterized the DCCC’s move as part of the “tired strategy” that led to the party’s leaders losing Congress and the presidency two years ago.

“They are backing a Washington insider who hasn’t lived here in 20 years and bought a vacation home in the Broadmoor to claim residency,” Reagan said in an emailed statement. “We have an immensely capable team built on local support and fighting for what matters to us. After two years as a candidate on the ground in CD-5, knocking tens of thousands of doors, we’ve built the kind of grassroots energy that no amount of Washington money can manufacture.”

Reagan narrowly lost the district’s 2024 primary to the Democratic nominee who went on to lose to Crank by 14 points.

A source familiar with the DCCC’s process told Colorado Politics that a candidate’s addition to the list only happens after “a full assessment of the race, including local, state, and national endorsements, momentum on the ground, fundraising and polling.”

Last month, the House Majority PAC, a super PAC aligned with House Democratic leadership, reserved more than $9 million in fall TV and digital advertising in Colorado, including over $1 million in the Colorado Springs media market. At the same time, its GOP counterpart, the Congressional Leadership Fund, booked $5.5 million in Colorado but didn’t reserve any airtime in the market that reaches the 5th CD, signaling that Republicans don’t consider Crank endangered.

A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the DCCC’s GOP counterpart, told Colorado Politics that national Democrats are “delusional” if they think Killin can unseat the incumbent.

“While delusional DC Democrats desperately try to plant an out-of-touch liberal in Colorado Springs to rubberstamp their radical agenda, Congressman Jeff Crank is focused on delivering commonsense wins,” NRCC spokesman Zach Bannon said in a text message. “Coloradans are fired up to send Crank back to Congress.”