{"id":7446,"date":"2026-06-17T15:32:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T15:32:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/17\/democrat-pan-frames-newly-independent-kiley-as-trump-aligned-in-6th-district-race-2\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T15:32:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T15:32:32","slug":"democrat-pan-frames-newly-independent-kiley-as-trump-aligned-in-6th-district-race-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/17\/democrat-pan-frames-newly-independent-kiley-as-trump-aligned-in-6th-district-race-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrat Pan frames newly Independent Kiley as Trump-aligned in 6th District race"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Former Democratic state Sen. Richard Pan\u2019s Tuesday morning news conference underscored what will be a central message of his November campaign: portraying his opponent, newly independent Rep. Kevin Kiley, as a staunch Republican loyal to President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

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\u201cKevin Kiley clearly is trying to obfuscate who he is, what he stands for with the voters, and we\u2019ll be sure to remind people to look through that obfuscation,\u201d Pan said outside the California Democratic Party headquarters in Sacramento.<\/p>\n

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Pan is banking on the tactic to win the Democrat-leaning 6th Congressional District, which under newly redrawn lines includes West Sacramento, Roseville, Rocklin and communities north and east of Sacramento. Pan and Kiley both secured their spots in the general election last week.<\/p>\n

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Kiley is expected to face an uphill battle as he tries to win over voters from both parties after announcing earlier this year that he would leave the Republican Party and register as an independent. He has attributed the switch to a frustration with partisanship and the ways it is \u201cweakening the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

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But the move has now left Kiley open to attacks from Democrats, like Pan, who point to a long history with the Republican Party.<\/p>\n

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During his time in the Legislature, Kiley branded himself as the GOP foil to Gov. Gavin Newsom. He later earned an endorsement from Trump, who called Kiley a \u201cMAGA champion.\u201d In Congress, Kiley has largely voted with the Republican Party including for last year\u2019s controversial H.R. 1 better known as the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act.<\/p>\n

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Even after he dropped his GOP affiliation, Kiley has continued to draw major campaign contributions from Republican groups. Some of the largest donations came from a political action committee led by House Speaker Mike Johnson.<\/p>\n

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\u201cKevin Kiley has consistently shown he\u2019ll put the interests of himself and Donald Trump above the interests of Californians,\u201d said Fabrizio Sasso, executive director of the Sacramento Central Labor Council, on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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