Jeff Crank (R) and Dave Williams (R) are running in the Republican primary for Colorado’s 5th Congressional District on June 25, 2024. The district is open because incumbent U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R) is not running for re-election.

Former President Donald Trump (R) endorsed Williams, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R) endorsed Crank. This is one of two Republican primary elections for the U.S. House in 2024 in which Trump and Johnson have endorsed different candidates. Lamborn also endorsed Crank.

Crank and Williams differ in how they describe their political ideologies. Williams says he is an America First candidate, a term associated with Trump’s platform and candidates who say they support Trump’s agenda. Crank describes himself as a conservative and says he believes it is important that to communicate to Republican voters in a way that reduces divisiveness.

Crank’s professional experience includes working as a state director of the Colorado branch of the political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity and as a podcaster. Crank says he would work to limit immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, reduce government spending, decrease inflation, lower taxes, limit abortion access, and limit restrictions on gun ownership. Americans for Prosperity Action, the superPAC affiliated with Americans for Prosperity, endorsed Crank.

Williams is a former member of the Colorado House of Representatives. Williams’ professional experience includes working as the vice president of logistics for MKW Global Sourcing, Inc., and as the chairman of the Colorado Republican Party. Williams says he would work to limit illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, restrict abortion access, limit restrictions on gun ownership, lower taxes, and audit elections.

Major party candidates can qualify for the ballot in Colorado congressional elections via a party assembly or by submitting a sufficient number of valid signatures. Williams qualified for the ballot at the Republican district assembly in March, and Crank submitted a sufficient number of valid petition signatures.

Chris McIntyre, the communications director for Williams’ campaign, criticized Crank for qualifying for the ballot by submitting petition signatures instead of attending the party assembly. McIntyre said, “The fact that lobbyist and open border candidate Jeff Crank is publicly bragging how he bypassed grassroots Republicans at [the] convention by paying for petition signatures only shows how out of touch Crank is with everyday Republicans, and it’s no wonder why President Trump endorsed Dave Williams.”

Crank criticized Williams for not publicizing his tenure at MKW Global Sourcing, Inc. because of the company’s history of importing Chinese products. Crank said, “Dave is a hypocrite. He’s made his whole career off selling cheap Chinese products, then runs out and tells everybody he’s ‘Mr. America First’… It’s really staggering that he would attack me, blame me, when I haven’t made any money off the Chinese Communist Party.”

Crank and Williams both ran for this office in previous years. Crank ran in 2006 and 2008, and Williams ran in 2022. Both candidates lost to Lamborn in all three elections.

As of May 21, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rate the district “Solid Republican,” indicating that the Republican Party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive. Larry J. Sabato’s Crystal Ball rates the district “Likely Republican,” indicating that the Republican Party has a clear edge, but the race is competitive.