Retiring Guy's Digest: Flipping the House and flipping off Trump: Democrat Jessica Killin defeats freshman Republican incumbent Jeff Crank and flips Colorado 5th congressional district

Saturday, November 14, 2026

Flipping the House and flipping off Trump: Democrat Jessica Killin defeats freshman Republican incumbent Jeff Crank and flips Colorado 5th congressional district

In the three previous elections, Republican candidates defeated their Democratic opponents by an average of 16 percentage points. This year, Democrat Jessica Killin flipped the script -- and the district -- with a 5-point win over GOP incumbent Jeff Crank.

Election results map: Ballotpedia

Headline: CBS News, 11/6/2026

Jesse Sarles and Shaun Boyd report:

The district has been a stronghold for the GOP for decades, and this will be the first time it will be represented by a Democrat in the U.S. House.
Republicans still have a double-digit advantage in voter registrations in the district, but unaffiliated voters account for about half the electorate. CBS Colorado Democratic Analyst Mike Dino said the district has become more urbanized and many of the unaffiliated voters are leaning left.
Campaign money that poured into CD-5 during the election cycle was a sign of Democrats' optimism. Dino said the party spent a record amount to boost Killin, who outraised Crank.
Killin is a veteran who has been chief of staff for several members of Congress and worked as an executive at the insurance company USAA.

Running unopposed in the GOP primary, Crank received more votes than the combined total of the two candidates running in the Democratic primary. But the primaries took place 4 months before the general election, and Trump did a huge amount of damage to the GOP brand during this time.