Rep. Kevin Kiley demands TV station stop airing 'Duck' ad tying him to Trump

Mathew Miranda, The Sacramento Bee on Sep 23, 2026

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rep. Kevin Kiley’s campaign has sent a cease-and-desist letter to a Sacramento television station over a new political advertisement that compares the congressman to a duck and highlights his past endorsement from President Donald Trump.

The 30-second ad — titled “Duck” — began airing Monday on ABC10 (KXTV) and is sponsored by 314 Action Fund, a national pro-science political action committee backing former Democratic State Sen. Richard Pan in the Sacramento region’s 6th District race. It seeks to tie Kiley to Trump, who endorsed Kiley in 2022 during his first campaign for Congress.

Kiley, who left the Republican Party in March to register as “no party preference,” has more recently distanced himself from Trump and GOP leaders as he tries to retain his seat in a primarily blue district. A growing number of Republicans across the country have deemphasized their ties to Trump as his approval ratings continue to sink.

“If it walks like a duck, it’s a duck,” the advertisement states as it shows a duck quacking. “Trump called Kevin Kiley a MAGA champion… Now Kiley is pretending he’s independent, but he’s still Trump’s MAGA champion.”

In a cease-and-desist letter sent to ABC10 (KXTV) on Monday, Kiley’s campaign cited a moment in the advertisement in which previous news coverage from another station states, “President Donald Trump has endorsed Kevin Kiley in this race.” The statement is accompanied by a graphic that reads: “Trump endorses Kevin Kiley.”

Kiley’s campaign, in the letter and in an interview with The Sacramento Bee, has argued these claims present a “falsehood” that the endorsement is for Kiley’s current 6th District race and are defamatory. The campaign is demanding that the TV station stop airing the ad in its current form and is considering legal action if no action is taken.

“There’s various remedies that are available,” Dave Gilliard, a campaign consultant for Kiley, said Wednesday. “Obviously, they involve going to court, which we prefer that they just do the right thing and take down the ad and change it. We understand campaigns, and this can be back and forth, but when an ad is so blatantly false and uses falsities, the easy thing for them to do would be just to change their ad.”

ABC10 (KXTV) did not respond to a request for comment.

The ad is one of the latest ways Pan and groups backing him have tried to attack Kiley for his well-known history aligned with the Republican Party and Trump.

During his time in the Legislature, Kiley branded himself as the GOP foil to Gov. Gavin Newsom. He later earned a surprise endorsement from Trump, who called Kiley a “MAGA champion.” Kiley responded in admiration at the time.

While 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.

“He’s a Republican dressed up as an independent for this election,” Daisy Stein, a spokesperson for Pan, said Wednesday. “Voters in CA-06 don’t want a charade, they want results.”

Over the last year, Kiley has incrementally and publicly been more willing to demonstrate independence. Political experts and critics have noted these moves became pronounced after California’s Proposition 50 dramatically reshaped his district into more Democratic-friendly territory.

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

Kiley’s shift toward the political center culminated in March when he announced that he would change his registration from Republican to independent. He attributed the switch to a frustration with partisanship and the ways it is “weakening the country.”

Kiley has doubled down on his independent streak in the months since. This week, he said he would no longer caucus with the Republican Party if he wins in November.

He will face off against Pan in November for California’s 6th Congressional District, which 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.

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