January 15, 2026 12:18 PM UTC

Jeff Crank's Seat is Getting Warmer

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• by: Colorado Pols

 

Voters in the fifth congressional district (Colorado Springs) have never elected a Democrat to represent them in Congress, starting with the selection of Republican Bill Armstrong in 1972 and continuing with Republican Jeff Crank’s ascension in 2024. But there’s a first time for everything, and 2026 could well be that moment for Democrats.

According to The Cook Political Report and its excessively-expensive paywall, CO-05 has been downgraded (depending on your perspective) from a seat considered “Solid Republican” to a new designation of “Likely Republican.” This is a significant change in a part of the state that has been slowly trending toward Democrats in recent years.

President Trump carried CO-05 by 9 points in 2024 after winning the district by 18 points in his first race in 2016. While demographic shifts have diluted a Republican advantage in El Paso County, this is still a seat that the GOP really shouldn’t have to worry about in 2026. But a combination of poor approval ratings for Trump; strong headwinds for Democrats; and Crank’s absolutely feckless freshman performance have given Democratic challenger Jessica Killin more than a fighting chance in November (assuming she wins the Democratic nomination over newly-minted Democrat Matt Cavanaugh).

As Killin’s campaign noted in a press release earlier this week, she began the year with more than $1.1 million in the bank after a modest Q4 2025 fundraising haul that brought in $610,000 (which includes $257k from the candidate herself). Crank and Killin had been fairly even on the fundraising front through the third quarter of 2025, but Crank has really had to work to keep up financially with his challenger.

Killin has a much more impressive resume than Crank, a former right-wing radio host who succeeded the retiring dullard Doug Lamborn after being unable to defeat his fellow Republican twice before. After 18 years of Lamborn and one term from Crank, voters in CO-05 are surely getting tired of being represented by someone who barely shows up to work and makes no real effort to advance anything important to his district. During his first year in Congress, Crank made it clear that he has no intention of doing anything other than what Donald Trump demands.

Crank did nothing when Trump announced he would move Space Command Headquarters from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama — a decision that will cost the area hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in economic activity. Crank wouldn’t sign on to a discharge petition forcing a vote on releasing the Epstein Files, despite being lobbied by a constituent whose late sister, Virginia Guiffre, was one of Jeffrey Epstein’s most outspoken victims. Just last week, Crank voted against an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that would have helped constituents who are dealing with 100% price increases for health insurance; Crank’s fellow freshman, CO-03 Republican Jeff “Bread Sandwich” Hurd, had the good sense to back the proposal for people hurting in his district.

Crank laughably told a local reporter in December that one of his major accomplishments in 2025 was casting a bunch of votes — literally the most basic thing asked of any Member of Congress. In an appearance on the right-wing “Jeff and Bill Show” this morning, Crank outlined another year of shameless cowtowing to Trump.

Here’s Crank parroting the Trump administration on the ICE killing of Renee Good in Minnesota:

CRANK: You know, the Democrats have decided that they’re going to declare war on law enforcement yet again. Um, this is, I guess, round two, maybe it’s round four or five, but round two at least of their war on police and war on law enforcement. And, you, know, it’s, it, it disheartening and, um, you know it’s a terrible tragedy, what happened in Minneapolis with Ms. Good. But look, it could have been prevented and it could have been prevented by her if she would have complied with the lawful orders of law enforcement. And that’s what this gets down to simply: The rule of law.

Regarding Trump’s threats to take over Greenland, which wants nothing to do with the United States, Crank says he wants to “reserve judgment” on Trump’s imperialistic goals:

CRANK: You know, it is a NATO country right now, it’s part of Denmark, and so you know, we do have the assets at our disposal of Greenland right now. So, you know, I’m willing to let the president play this out. I mean, I do think it does educate our allies a bit, some of the talk that he has there. But look, I don’t think there’s anything wrong. [Pols emphasis]

Let’s say the president were to come up to the people of Greenland and say, look, how about we offer you this package and you vote on it and decide if you want to become part of the United States. So if they freely wanted to do that, what is wrong with that? There’s nothing wrong with doing that. And, honestly, I think that’s what the president’s trying to do here is try and put together an economic package that might benefit the people of Greenland, and if they choose to come be a part of the United States. That would be their choice and I don’t know why people get so agitated about something like that.

Crank even says that he has no problem with Trump threatening and investigating fellow Colorado Rep. Jason Crow (D-Aurora):

CRANK: Look, there has to be a price to pay. That video was completely inappropriate. It was simply trying to put in the minds of our young men and women who serve in the military, that there is something out there that the President has ordered that is illegal, even though they didn’t name it because it didn’t exist. There is no illegal order. Um, but it’s a little game that they play and it is wrong and it’s very dangerous for our Constitution.

That’s right: Crank believes there should be a “price to pay” for exercising your First Amendment rights.

If voters in CO-05 want a representative who will make no independent decisions of his own — even on issues important to his constituents — then Crank should be safe in 2026. But Crank’s embarrassing deference to a President whose approval ratings are in free fall leaves him vulnerable and might well put him on the cusp of history as the first Republican to lose to a Democrat in the fifth congressional district.