By admin 
Can a No Party Preference candidate get elected to Congress in California? Rep. Kevin Kiley will soon find out. The former Republican from Placer County will face Democrat Richard Pan in the November general election and is leading the primary in the freshly gerrymandered 6th Congressional District, which includes parts of Placer, Sacramento and Yolo Counties. When the latest vote totals were tabulated on Monday, Kiley remained on top with 24.5% of the vote in a race with seven candidates. Pan, a former state senator, was second with 23.2% and both men were projected as the winners of the primary by the Associated Press.
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Random-name-on-the-ballot Republican Michael Stansfield was at 20.1% and far back in the pack were recognizable Democrats such as Sacramento District Attorney Thien Ho.
When Proposition 50, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s gerrymandering plan to redraw congressional districts to favor Democrats, was passed by voters late last year, Kiley was drawn out of his safe 3rd Congressional District. That left him with few good options. He chose to run in a seat heavily-favoring Democrats that includes his west Placer base but as an NPP. It seemed that by shunning partisanship he hoped to appeal to enough Republicans, Democrats and independents who wanted an independent voice. It’s a theory that gives the warm and fuzzies, but it’s tough to pull off. Partisanship is a heck of a drug, which is why Stansfield performed so well. He has an R next to his name, and that’s all many voters need to know. He wasn’t endorsed by the party, had no real campaign to speak of, no mail and no website. Stansfield had no footprint at all, except his ballot statement, which I’m guessing few people read. Here’s the first paragraph of what he sees as his education and qualifications: “Bible in hand, hear my qualifications of truth against Satanism (Matthew13:24-30): 1 Chronicles 5:2 Joseph, the ancient kingdom of Israel, not Judah, inherited the Abrahamic birthright. In 2Kings16:7-9 Judah, the Jewish Kingdom, sold Israel, like Christ, from the Temple’s coffers. Judah’s culture and people survived and merged with Edom (13Josephus9:1), but Israel whom Jeremiah 31:9 calls the son of God, died (Hebrews11:17-19). Why doesn’t Christianity believe in the resurrection of the son of God?” And on it goes. Facing Pan is probably not the matchup Kiley was hoping for, but he’s been a very good member of Congress, and though his party disaffiliation looked like a political calculation, he’s actually been pretty independent for a long time. As I wrote not too long ago, Kiley helped pass tax relief for Americans living in high-tax states like California. He fought to release the Epstein files, and he supports bans on congressional stock trending and extending health care subsidies. This is not the legislative profile of a pure partisan. It will be a tougher campaign against Pan, who will appeal to partisan Democrat voters and will actually campaign, though I’m sure he’ll embrace the corny California Democratic campaign strategy of saying “Trump” as much as possible. Working in Kiley’s favor is the fact that Pan seemed to be a lackluster campaigner, underperforming in the recent race for Sacramento mayor. By contrast, Kiley is a tireless campaigner and is everywhere in his district. I see him regularly at events; just last month I saw him at Placer’s State of the County breakfast. As I wrote recently, I’m a fan of Kiley. I voted for him before and will continue to do so as long as he’s on my ballot. I think he’s a great voice of the Sacramento region in Congress. But more than that, I would love to see a successful independent campaign chip away at the stranglehold political parties have on our elections. I’m a Republican voter, but I will vote for the right choice over the right party. Kiley is the right choice. Let’s hope he makes it.
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Matt Fleming is an opinion writer living in Placer County. You can follow him on X @Flemingwords or connect via email: [email protected].
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