Former Democratic state Sen. Richard Pan’s 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.

“Kevin Kiley clearly is trying to obfuscate who he is, what he stands for with the voters, and we’ll be sure to remind people to look through that obfuscation,” Pan said outside the California Democratic Party headquarters in Sacramento.

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.

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 “weakening the country.”

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

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 “MAGA champion.” In Congress, Kiley has largely voted with the Republican Party including for last year’s controversial H.R. 1 better known as the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act.

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.

“Kevin Kiley has consistently shown he’ll put the interests of himself and Donald Trump above the interests of Californians,” said Frabrizio Sasso, executive director of the Sacramento Central Labor Council, on Tuesday.

Over the last year, Kiley has broken with GOP leadership on several key votes including siding with Democrats in opposition to more funding for immigration agencies and sending new aid to Ukraine. He was also one of a few Republicans who showed up in Washington D.C. during last fall’s government shutdown.

“I will continue to vote for what is best for my district, irrespective of partisanship and will fight for common sense solutions to the challenges facing our country,” Kiley said in a written statement following his opposition to Congress approving nearly $70 billion to immigration agencies last week.

Pan, a Harvard-trained pediatrician, is also hoping to hold Kiley accountable for his record on healthcare.

On Tuesday, he repeatedly pointed to Kiley’s vote on H.R. 1 which will lead to millions of Americans losing their healthcare coverage according to several nonpartisan organizations. Pan made national headlines during his time in Legislature for leading the state’s efforts to toughen school vaccine requirements.

“My North Star is the health and well-being of the people of the 6th District,” Pan said.

Kiley and Pan both emerged from a crowded field of Democratic candidates in the primary. Among the biggest names were Sacramento County District Attorney Thein Ho, West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero and Planned Parenthood leader Lauren Babb Tomlinson.

Unknown Republican candidate Michael Stansfield held one of the top two spots in the early results before Pan surged ahead.

As of Tuesday, Kiley had 24.3% of the votes and Pan was right behind with 23.2%.

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