Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank and Jessica Killin, his Democratic challenger, have agreed to debate twice in the weeks leading up to the general election in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District, their campaigns have said.

Crank is seeking a second term in the historically Republican seat, while Killin is hoping to become the first Democrat elected from the district, which overlaps nearly entirely with El Paso County and has been trending toward the Democrats faster than any other House district in the country.

The candidates are set to face off first in an hour-long, televised debate at 6 p.m. on Aug. 27 at Penrose House, near The Broadmoor, in Colorado Springs, It’s sponsored by KOAA News, The Gazette, Colorado Politics and the El Pomar Foundation.

Following the 5th CD debate, gubernatorial candidates Attorney General Phil Weiser, the Democratic nominee, and former U.S. Rep. Greg Lopez, who is running as an unaffiliated candidate, are set to take the stage at the same location for their own hour-long, televised debate, starting at 7:30 p.m. Republican nominee Victor Marx declined an invitation to participate in the debate.

Admission to the evening of debates is free, but seats are limited and must be reserved in advance at Gazette.com/debate2026. The debates are set to air live on KOAA-TV and stream on the media sponsors’ platforms.

They are scheduled to meet again on the afternoon of Sept. 18 at a debate sponsored by the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC. The hour-long debate starts at 3 p.m. at Ent Center for the Arts, near the University of Colorado Colorado Springs campus. The event is sold out.

For the first time, national Democrats have targeted the race, bolstered by internal polling released last month by Killin’s campaign that found the candidates in a statistical tie, with Crank leading Killin 45%-44% — inside the poll’s margin of error — with 11% undecided.

Crank, a former radio host and executive with the conservative advocacy group Americans For Prosperity, won election two years ago by a nearly 14-percentage-point margin over Democratic nominee River Gassen, a research scientist. At the same time, Republican Donald Trump carried the district by a little over 9 percentage points.

He took over from former U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, who didn’t seek reelection in 2024 after serving 10 terms.

Killin, an Army veteran and former chief of staff to Doug Emhoff, then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, has out-raised the Republican incumbent since launching her campaign early last year. She finished the most recent campaign finance reporting period with more money in the bank — $1.6 million to Crank’s nearly $1.5 million.

Killin won the June 30 primary over Joe Reagan, a veteran and nonprofit leader making his second run for the seat. Crank didn’t face opposition for the GOP nomination.

Ballots start going out to most Colorado voters on Oct. 2 and are due back to county clerks by 7 p.m. Nov. 3.