Kiley draws major Republican campaign donations — even after his party exit
Even after dropping his GOP affiliation, Rep. Kevin Kiley has continued to draw major campaign contributions from Republican groups. One is a political action committee led by U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Kiley raised more than $497,000 in the last quarter, which spans from Jan. 1 to March 31, according to latest filings from the Federal Election Commission website. Much of what he fundraised — $225,000 — came from Republican leadership PACs including Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan’s Buckeye Liberty and Kentucky Rep. Andy Garland’s Building America’s Republican Representation.
Nearly all the GOP donations came in the weeks following Kiley’s announcement that he would leave the Republican Party to become the sole Independent member of the House and register as “No Party Preference” to run in California’s 6th Congressional District. He attributed the changes to frustration with “partisanship” and the ways it is “weakening the country.”
Kiley’s campaign team, in a statement Wednesday, said it welcomes “support from those on either side of the aisle inspired by our efforts at making California more affordable, safer and accountable to the people.”
“He is the only candidate in the race putting partisanship aside to fix the cost of living crisis, government incompetence, and corruption plaguing our state,” the statement said. “Partisans finding resonance with that record makes no difference to the congressman’s independence.”
Several political experts and consultants have said Kiley must appeal to a broader base of voters to increase his slim chances of winning in the left-leaning 6th District. Kiley, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump in 2022, had a long history of aligning with the Republican Party before breaking multiple times with GOP leadership last fall.
Kiley’s largest donation of the last quarter — $158,000 – came from House Speaker Johnson’s Grow the Majority PAC, which is his “chief fundraising vehicle to raise resources for Republican House campaigns and Republican campaign organizations,” according to his website. Johnson’s PAC had already given Kiley nearly $460,000 across 2025.
“Grow the Majority supports Congressman Kiley as he continues to caucus with the Republican Conference and remains focused on common-sense solutions, including securing the border, delivering tax cuts for working families and improving education for students across California and our country,” said Greg Steele, Johnson’s political communications director, in a statement Wednesday.
Republican consultant Rob Stutzman called the continued contributions to Kiley’s campaign unsurprising given the slim House majority. As of this month, there are 217 Republicans and 212 Democrats in the chamber.
“What the Republican leadership ultimately has to be a little concerned about is they don’t alienate him to where he just decides to not join them if it makes a difference on the majority,” Stutzman said.
Earlier this month, Kiley was reinstated to three committee assignments by the House GOP Steering Committee, which features Johnson. He was removed from the assignments last month in what his spokesperson said was a procedural move under House rules following his party change. At a news conference Wednesday, Kiley said this week he became the first Independent to chair a House subcommittee hearing in 70 years.
“This change really just reflects the way I’ve long approached my role as a representative,” Kiley said.
Kiley maintains a significant fundraising advantage over his Democratic opponents, which include former California state Sen. Richard Pan, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte leader Lauren Babb Tomlinson, Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho, West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero and Marine Corps veteran Tyler Vandenberg.
His $2.1 million cash on hand is more than double all the candidates combined. He also raised nearly $2.6 million since Jan. 1, 2025, which is $750,000 more than all the candidates combined.
The new 6th District spans from Roseville and Rocklin in the north to West Sacramento in the south. Roseville, Citrus Heights, North Highlands, Natomas, North Sacramento and parts of East Sacramento are also within the boundaries. The new district leaves out downtown and midtown Sacramento.
