(In paragraph 12, corrects title to “vice chairman” from “chairman;” In paragraphs 24 and 25, corrects name to “Ries” from “Trei”)
By Andrew Hay and Brad Brooks
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, Nov 6 (Reuters) – Colorado Springs, a military town and global center for Christian evangelism, has sent a Republican to Washington every election since its US House of Representatives district was created in 1970.
Then came 2026.
The victory of Jessica Killin, an Army veteran who was among dozens of Democrats who flipped a seat this week, is one of the starkest examples of how the party built its resounding win on affordability issues, demographics and candidates, one district at a time.
In an area with five military installations, where soldiers pack fast-food restaurants at lunchtime, Killin’s triumph relied on votes of veterans, service members and their families, who represent about a third of the population, and for whom the war in Iran is personal. A soldier deployed from the city’s Fort Carson US Army base was among the first Americans to die in the conflict.
Killin, a first-time candidate, said her win was a repudiation of Republican incumbent Jeff Crank’s support for President Donald Tr...