Mike Hesse

Fifth Congressional District Republican candidate Jeff Crank is trying to collar incumbent U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado Springs) for voting against tougher dogfighting penalties last year.

A new Crank mailer blasts Lamborn for his "nay" vote on the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act in March 2007.

In a statement Wednesday, Lamborn said he opposed the legislation because adequate state and federal laws were already in place.

"For the record," he said in the statement, "I love dogs and animals."

Crank mailer, side 1Crank mailer, side 2

The Colorado Springs Housing and Building Association issued a press release today, first published by ColoradoPols, which suggests that maybe one side in the Rayburn-Crank polling snafu wasn't all that honest about what happened.