Republican-aligned PACs continue funding Kevin Kiley’s congressional campaign
Rep. Kevin Kiley has nearly $2 million in cash on hand as he heads into the general election, aided in part by support from Republican-aligned groups even after leaving the GOP earlier this year.
Federal campaign finance filings show Kiley raised nearly $2.7 million between January 2025 and May 13, 2026. The fundraising haul included contributions from a number of conservative organizations and Republican leadership committees, including more than $550,000 transferred through Grow the Majority, a joint fundraising committee associated with House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Kiley announced in March that he had changed his voter registration to no party preference, saying growing partisanship was “weakening the country.” While he no longer identifies as a Republican, the Rocklin congressman continues to caucus with House Republicans.
Just a few weeks after his announcement, another $157,800 was transferred from Grow the Majority to his campaign.
“He said he’s going to caucus with the Republicans, so ideally while they would prefer he stayed in the party, he’s still a member who said he will caucus with them,” said Brendan Glavin, director of insights at nonpartisan campaign finance tracker OpenSecrets. “So I wouldn’t be surprised if other members’ leadership PACs are giving them money, that they would still want to support one of their own.”
Former Democratic state Sen. Richard Pan, who is running against Kiley in the November general election, said Kiley’s party switch is a political tactic to win the Democratic-leaning 6th Congressional District.
Just four years earlier, Kiley was endorsed by President Donald Trump for the 3rd Congressional District seat, which he now holds. Trump predicted Kiley would be a “MAGA champion in Congress.”
Since California’s Proposition 50 dramatically reshaped the boundaries of his current district leading him to run in the slightly more competitive 6th District, Kiley has emerged as one of the few House Republicans willing to break with party leadership.
Kiley remains listed as a member of the Republican Governance Group, a caucus of moderate House Republicans whose affiliated PAC contributed $7,000 to his campaign.
“Kevin Kiley can change the letter next to his name, but he can’t hide who funds his campaigns or who he fights for: his Republican Party bosses,” Anna Elsasser, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told The Sacramento Bee in a statement.
“While families suffer from Kiley’s agenda that’s raising costs and gutting their healthcare, he continues raising money from the same MAGA machine that’s bankrolled him all along. It’s disingenuous, it’s predictable — and it will be one reason among many that he loses in November.”
Among the Republican-aligned groups that have contributed to Kiley’s campaign are the House Conservatives Fund, Republican Main Street Partnership PAC and Building America’s Republican Representation PAC. A Sacramento Bee analysis of federal campaign finance records found that about one-fifth of Kiley’s PAC contributions — nearly $70,000 — came from organizations explicitly aligned with Republican or conservative causes.
Because public data only lists contributions through mid-May, it’s unclear whether Republican PACs will continue to send funds to his campaign.
When asked whether he planned to continue taking contributions from Republican PACs at a press conference Monday, Kiley said he welcomes support from anyone who cares about the “common sense solutions that our campaign is offering.”