Crank, a Republican elected in 2024 after Doug Lamborn retired, faces Democrat Jessica Killin in November 2026. He won his first term by nearly 14 percentage points. The district, which includes Colorado Springs and most of El Paso County, has never elected a Democrat, but its boundaries have contracted toward the city’s urban core, and Republican presidential margins have declined over recent elections.

In an interview, Crank rejected Killin’s effort to link his congressional record closely to Trump’s, calling a claim that he voted with the president 100% of the time misleading. He cited his vote to override Trump’s veto of Arkansas Valley Conduit legislation and his opposition to firing civilian faculty at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Crank said he worked with Sen. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, to reverse the faculty dismissals.

“I vote the way that I think that this district wants me to represent them,” Crank said.

He also said he opposed including a broad sale of public lands in the 2025 tax-and-spending legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, and said he would have voted against the measure if such a provision had been included. Crank supported the final bill, which the Congressional Budget Office estimated would add $3.4 trillion to federal deficits over a decade. He disputed that projection, arguing that the budget office has overstated the effects of past tax cuts and that economic growth could offset some costs. He also acknowledged that Congress needs to control spending.

On Social Security, Crank said lawmakers should negotiate across party lines to address the program’s long-term finances. He floated gradually increasing the retirement age for younger future beneficiaries, while denying that he voted to cut benefits. He said federal law barred Congress from changing Social Security through the reconciliation process used for the legislation.

Military issues and federal investment are central to the district’s economic identity. Crank said he opposed moving U.S. Space Command’s headquarters from Colorado Springs to Alabama, but described the decision as nearly settled and said he focused on securing other military and space-related work for the region. He estimated that a planned Space Operations Center could bring thousands of jobs to the area, while the headquarters move would relocate roughly 1,000 to 1,200 people. Those figures were Crank’s estimates; he said some details of the transition remained unresolved.

Crank also said decisions about data centers built outside military installations should be made by local governments and residents, rather than imposed by Congress. He opposed a federal moratorium on data-center construction, arguing that the United States should remain competitive with China in the technology sector.

On Iran, Crank said he had wanted Trump to seek congressional authorization before beginning military action. But after the operation began, he opposed withdrawing support for U.S. service members and said the United States should pursue a plan to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear capability. He called for congressional oversight and said the conflict should not become a prolonged war.

Crank argued that his district’s shrinking Republican margins partly reflect redistricting, which removed several rural counties that had previously boosted GOP totals. He also said Colorado Springs and El Paso County remain conservative strongholds. In 2024, Trump carried the district by 9 percentage points, down from 13 points in 2020 and 24 points in 2016.

Killin has tied Crank to Trump on issues including the tax-and-spending bill and tariffs. Crank said that if Republicans lose control of the House, he would still work with the president, who is scheduled to remain in office through 2028, and focus on securing results for the region. He said his assignments on the House Armed Services and Natural Resources committees could help him work across party lines.