Colorado has eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Colorado Springs and its suburbs have been in the 5th Congressional District ever since it was created by the state legislature in the early 1970s. The 5th District used to include about 10 counties, stretching out to Salida, Leadville, Golden and Elizabeth. Now, it is only Colorado Springs and most, yet not quite all, of El Paso County.
A sliver of the county’s eastern edge was allocated to the 4th Congressional District to make the number of voters in each congressional district an almost even number as required by law. When the 5th District was first created, legislators expected it to be a safe-seat Republican district, and it has been. In fact, the 5th District is the only congressional district in Colorado never to have elected a Democrat.
Could this be the year for a Democrat to win the 5th? It is a possibility — yet not probable. Veteran incumbent Doug Lamborn, a Republican, is retiring after serving 18 years since being elected in 2006. The district is changing, but not dramatically.
More people are registering to vote as unaffiliated rather than registering Democratic or Republican. As of recently, about 50% of the district's registered voters are unaffiliated and only about one-third are registered Republican. Only 17% to 18% are registered as Democrats.
El Paso County has witnessed a surge in population. The county has about 750,000 people with a medium household income of close to $85,000 per year.