Colorado Democrats surge in US House races as blue wave reshapes the state's congressional map

Democrats are making gains in Colorado's historically Republican strongholds, putting once-safe U.S. House seats within reach as ballots are still being counted.

In the 5th Congressional District, covering El Paso County, Democrat Jessica Killin is up by more than five points over Republican incumbent Jeff Crank. Voters in the district have never elected a democrat to represent them in the U.S. House.

"We're obviously still waiting for the final count, but we're getting close. And so grateful that there are so many people throughout this community who want better leadership and believe that I'm the person who can deliver that leadership," said Killin in an interview with Denver7 on Wednesday morning.

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Crank won the seat in 2024 by about 14 points, while President Donald Trump won in El Paso County by 9 points.

Killin said if she makes history by winning the seat, she wants to focus on lowering costs, expanding access to healthcare, and restoring trust in government.

"We've got to address the Trump tariffs that are wreaking havoc on our small businesses and our regressive tax that impacts lower income people in particular. We've got to shore up our healthcare system," she said. "We have to address housing, our housing supply, and making sure that we have affordable housing here in El Paso County."

On election night, Crank said he had expected a close contest, blaming dissatisfaction with the Trump administration.

"If there's resistance to me, it's a national sort of resistance. It's not anything really specific about me," said Crank.

In the 4th District, Eileen Laubacher leads Republican incumbent Lauren Boebert by less than one point. The district covers the Eastern Plains and has not elected a democrat since 2008.

Republican incumbent Jeff Hurd has pulled ahead of Democrat Dwayne Romero by less than two points in the 3rd Congressional District, which covers the Western Slope and Pueblo.

In the battleground 8th District, the race has been called for Democrat Manny Rutinel, who leads Republican incumbent Gabe Evans by nearly 15 points.

Colorado Republican Party Chair Craig Steiner said the results were a shock but not entirely unexpected.

"We knew it was going to be a tough election cycle... the party that's in power in the White House doesn't usually do well in the midterms. So we knew that kind of thing was going to happen, but it was pretty much, it was pretty overwhelming," Steiner said.

Steiner said he believes votes for Democrats are largely votes against President Trump.

"I still think it's more about the national, the national wave. I don't know it's so much about the conservative candidates or conservatism at all... I've know people that would normally vote for Republicans and they felt that they had to vote, especially at the federal level, for Democrats as a check against Trump," he said.

Steiner pointed to the war in Iran and spiking gas prices as factors that drove voters toward Democrats. As for whether Colorado Republicans view the results as a blow to morale, he said it depends on who you ask.

"Obviously, the very day after it's really hard, and it takes a little bit of time to get over and then regroup. But I think we're going to regroup as we always do, and fight in two years," Steiner said.

Rep. Brittany Pettersen, who won reelection in Colorado's 7th Congressional District, said Democrats' sweep of both the House and Senate gives the party more power in Congress.

"It means we're going to actually have a check. We're going to be able to hold him [the president] accountable, leverage our position to ensure that people have access to health care, to rein in the unlawful practices for ICE, to actually deliver for the American people around illegal tariffs and pulling us out of the war. It is such an exciting time, and it's hard to grasp what happened," she said.

But many know winning is just the first step. Rep. Jason Crow, who won reelection in Colorado's 6th Congressional District, said the moment is both a celebration and a call to action.

"We are turning a corner right now for America, and the hard work is the work ahead. Right? All of this is a victory for this country, but we have to now deliver."