Jessica Killin walked out to the song American Girl in a bright red dress to claim victory in the democratic primary race for Congressional District 5 at a hotel in downtown Colorado Springs on Election Day.

She beat her fellow Army veteran 63% to Reagan’s 36% in the first round of results posted shortly before 8 p.m. and will go on to challenge Republican Rep. Jeff Crank in November.

The room full of supporters waved American flags and signs with her name as she made her way to a podium next to a large TV to give a speech thanking the supporters who helped knock on 20,000 doors and put the race on the national map.  She said she expected her campaign will go on to knock 100,000 more.

“I have a courageous, big bold vision for El Paso County,” she said.

She went to say that the community and country are at a crossroads and while it may be a moment of discord and division, there is opportunity.

“Focus on the opportunity to create a better, more vibrant future for El Paso County and for our country,” she said, told the crowd.

Killin, an Army veteran and former chief of staff for Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, has outraised the Republican incumbent since announcing her run last year. Reagan, who recently worked for Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center, also ran two years ago.

The district has never elected a Democrat to Congress, but for the first time, national Democrats are targeting the 5th CD, which aligns almost exactly with the boundaries of El Paso County, arguing that its voters have shifted left faster than almost any other district in recent elections.

Across the district, 47% of voters are unaffiliated, 32% are Republican and about 19% are Democrats, a state profile of the district said.

Killin moved back to Colorado Springs last spring after working in the White House and for democratic lawmakers. She decided a year ago to run for office, she told the crowd.

Reagan said at a watch party that if he lost he would keep working for the community.

“Whatever happens to tonight, I will be back out on the streets tomorrow working to make El Paso County a little bit better,” he said.

Reagan most recently helped veterans build their businesses working for Mt. Carmel. He previously worked for Wreaths Across America as the director of military and veterans outreach and as the senior director of development of Easterseals, a nonprofit that serves people with disabilities. He moved to town in 2020.

Crank, a former radio talk show host and longtime political operative, won the seat two years ago by a roughly 14-point margin, after its incumbent, then-U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, retired after nine terms in office.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee named Killin last month to its Red to Blue program, calling the first-time candidate a “top-tier” challenger in a seat the party is aiming to flip in this year’s midterm elections.