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In scramble to flip another district blue, Democrats hope Rep. Kiley is too MAGA for Sacramento suburbs

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In scramble to flip another district blue, Democrats hope Rep. Kiley is too MAGA for Sacramento suburbs

Riling up voters to support Democratic congressional candidate Jessica Morse a few weeks ahead of election day, Robert Sherriff, a retired science teacher, wore a hat he designed himself that read, “Make America Think Again.”

The silver-mustached 63-year-old, who also wore a shirt that read “Save Democracy, vote nonfiction,” has lived in Placer County for more than 20 years. Once a more moderate, no party preference voter, Sherriff is now a registered Democrat and fed up with Donald Trump supporters like his congressman, Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin.)

He thinks his conservative neighbors here in the Sierra foothills where old gold country merges with swanky Sacramento suburbia are, too.

“[Kiley] has tied himself to many of the MAGA policies, but a lot of Republicans here have become disenfranchised with all that,” Sherriff said at a Greek restaurant in a Rocklin strip mall this month where Morse held a campaign event.

Robert Sherriff, 63, hands out donation envelopes for congressional candidate Jessica Morse at a campaign event at 4 Heroes Grill in Rocklin, Calif., on Oct. 22, 2024.

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(Mackenzie Mays / Los Angeles Times)

Placer County is home to more than half of voters in California’s sprawling 3rd Congressional District, a 450-mile swath of the state that spans the Nevada border from Lake Tahoe to Death Valley. About 39% of voters in the district are Republicans, but it’s bluer than it was years ago — probably in part due to a migration of residents from the liberal Bay Area to more affordable inland cities such as Rocklin and Roseville during the pandemic.

Trump beat Joe Biden here by just 1.78% in 2020.

Democrats scrambling to flip some of California’s red districts in an effort to win control of the House hope enough Republicans and independent voters will be turned off by Kiley’s Trumpisms and instead vote for Morse, a former national security expert for the U.S. Defense Department who has campaigned on popular issues such as abortion access.

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Morse, 42, of Roseville, is a wildfire resilience specialist for the state who spent time in Iraq working for the federal government after studying international relations at Princeton. In 2018, she lost a bid against Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove) in another attempt to turn a red district blue.

Kiley, a Harvard- and Yale-educated attorney who grew up in Granite Bay, a wealthy Placer County suburb, was considered a moderate Republican when he was elected to the California Assembly in 2016, supporting former Ohio Gov. John Kasich for president over Trump. But he has since marched further right, championing opposition to California’s vaccine and mask mandates during the worst of COVID-19.

The 39-year-old freshman congressman has emerged as a relentless critic of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a fact that helped him receive Trump’s endorsement for Congress in 2022. As some Republicans have distanced themselves from the controversial presidential nominee, Kiley has remained in lockstep with Trump on issues such as immigration and gender identity; shared stages with top MAGA activists such as Charlie Kirk and frequented right-wing media.

“Kevin Kiley represents the next generation of the MAGA movement,” Morse said. “He and JD Vance are trying to normalize this, which is why we have to flip this seat.”

Jessica Morse holds a "Morse for Congress" sign alongside supporters.

Jessica Morse holds a “Morse for Congress” sign alongside supporters near her campaign headquarters in Rocklin, Calif.

(Mackenzie Mays / Los Angeles Times)

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Kiley’s brand is centered on a constant churn of blog posts and dissenting speeches in Congress railing against Democrats and how their policies have hurt California. In news releases promoting Morse, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has said Kiley embodies “the worst kind of hyper-partisan, power-craven politics.”

But on the ground campaigning for reelection, Kiley said that he is focused on issues such as crime and the cost of living and that politics comes up “hardly ever.” He pointed to his recent support for the Lake Tahoe Restoration Re-authorization Act alongside Democrats in Congress as a proud — and bipartisan — accomplishment.

“I get the need to try to create sort of a partisan angle on everything, it’s the nature of our current political climate. But that’s just not the way that I approach my job. And it’s frankly not the sort of feedback I get from voters,” said Kiley, who unsuccessfully ran for governor in the 2021 Newsom recall election.

Just as Morse ties Kiley to Trump and Vance, Kiley ties her to Newsom. Morse was appointed by Newsom as deputy secretary of forest resources management for the California Natural Resources Agency in 2019.

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His unrelenting focus on Newsom could work: More than 56% of voters in District 3 voted for Republican state Sen. Brian Dahle (R-Bieber) for governor over the Democratic incumbent in 2022.

“In this area, we have maintained a quality of life that doesn’t exist in other parts of California. We don’t have the level of waste and crime and homelessness that you have in places like L.A. and San Francisco and even Sacramento,” Kiley said during a TV debate with Morse hosted by KCRA this month. “But that could change if we don’t have the right representation.”

Kevin Kiley

Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) campaigns for governor in Clovis, Calif., in the 2021 recall election against Gov. Gavin Newsom.

(Craig Kohlruss / Fresno Bee)

Kiley and his supporters have thrown water on Democrats’ attempts to make the district seem competitive in the final weeks leading up to election day, saying the support for Morse is because of her association with Newsom and not because they think they can actually flip the district.

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Newsom’s Campaign for Democracy PAC recently sent supporters an email naming Morse among four candidates who could help Democrats win control of the House, painting it as a way to ensure “Trump Protection.” But the California Democratic Party has not prioritized her campaign or financed it in the way that it has done in the most competitive congressional races.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has labeled several California districts as competitive toss-ups but rated District 3 as “likely Republican.”

Trump is embraced by some constituents in the massive district, which includes conservative rural counties such as Plumas, Sierra and Inyo. Just last month, the Nevada County GOP hosted an event in Kiley’s district featuring Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and Trump ally who even Republicans have condemned for her spread of conspiracy theories.

Despite Trump’s pattern of lies, Betsy Mahan, chair of the Sacramento County Republican Party, praised the presidential nominee as “authentic” and said California voters view him as someone who keeps his word and disrupts the status quo.

“I don’t think [Kiley] is in any danger at all, to be honest,” Mahan said. “This is just gaslighting by the Democrats.”

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Kiley, though, seems less sure. In a text message sent to voters by his campaign on Wednesday, Kiley said the success of his race “will come down to getting out the vote this last week” and “we need all the help we can get.”

When asked by The Times if he is worried about his district going Democrat, he said, “Every district in the country — all 435 — are competitive.”

Morse, who was beaten by Kiley in the primary by more than 13 percentage points, is optimistic.

Jessica Morse gives a speech to supporters at 4 Heroes Grill

Jessica Morse gives a speech to supporters at 4 Heroes Grill in Rocklin, Calif.

(Mackenzie Mays / Los Angeles Times)

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After a debate watch party at a gyro and kebab shop in Rocklin — a suburb at the center of her district that is both whiter and more conservative than most of California — she warned that the state and nation are at a crossroads.

Supporters cheered as she told them that “the swingiest” voters can be convinced in the final days leading up to the election.

“We are going to go find them. We are going to get them,” she said. “We are going to flip the seat because the issues we face are real. They are serious. We can actually shape the future that we want and that we deserve.”

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Video: Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows

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Video: Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows

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Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows

Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota abandoned his re-election bid to focus on handling a scandal over fraud in social service programs that grew under his administration.

“I’ve decided to step out of this race, and I’ll let others worry about the election while I focus on the work that’s in front of me for the next year.” “All right, so this is Quality Learing Center — meant to say Quality ‘Learning’ Center.” “Right now we have around 56 kids enrolled. If the children are not here, we mark absence.”

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Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota abandoned his re-election bid to focus on handling a scandal over fraud in social service programs that grew under his administration.

By Shawn Paik

January 6, 2026

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Pelosi heir-apparent calls Trump’s Venezuela move a ‘lawless coup,’ urges impeachment, slams Netanyahu

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Pelosi heir-apparent calls Trump’s Venezuela move a ‘lawless coup,’ urges impeachment, slams Netanyahu

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A San Francisco Democrat demanded the impeachment of President Donald Trump, accusing him of carrying out a “coup” against Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.

California state Sen. Scott Wiener, seen as the likely congressional successor to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, also took a swipe at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Wiener has frequently drawn national attention for his progressive positions, including his legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom designating California as a “refuge” for transgender children and remarks at a San Francisco Pride Month event referring to California children as “our kids.”

In a lengthy public statement following the Trump administration’s arrest and extradition of Maduro to New York, Wiener said the move shows the president only cares about “enriching his public donors” and “cares nothing for the human or economic cost of conquering another country.”

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KAMALA HARRIS BLASTS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S CAPTURE OF VENEZUELA’S MADURO AS ‘UNLAWFUL AND UNWISE’

California State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, speaks at a rally. (John Sciulli/Getty Images)

“This lawless coup is an invitation for China to invade Taiwan, for Russia to escalate its conquest in Ukraine, and for Netanyahu to expand the destruction of Gaza and annex the West Bank,” said Wiener, who originally hails from South Jersey.

He suggested that the Maduro operation was meant to distract from purportedly slumping poll numbers, the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents, and to essentially seize another country’s oil reserves.

“Trump is a total failure,” Wiener said. “By engaging in this reckless act, Trump is also making the entire world less safe … Trump is making clear yet again that, under this regime, there are no rules, there are no laws, there are no norms – there is only whatever Trump thinks is best for himself and his cronies at a given moment in time.”

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GREENE HITS TRUMP OVER VENEZUELA STRIKES, ARGUES ACTION ‘DOESN’T SERVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE’

In response, the White House said the administration’s actions against Maduro were “lawfully executed” and included a federal arrest warrant.”

“While Democrats take twisted stands in support of indicted drug smugglers, President Trump will always stand with victims and families who can finally receive closure thanks to this historic action,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.

Supporters of the operation have pushed back on claims of “regime change” – an accusation Wiener also made – pointing to actions by Maduro-aligned courts that barred top opposition leader María Corina Machado from running, even as publicly reported results indicated her proxy, Edmundo González Urrutia, won the vote.

“Trump’s illegal invasion of Venezuela isn’t about drugs, and it isn’t about helping the people of Venezuela or restoring Venezuelan democracy,” Wiener added. “Yes, Maduro is awful, but that’s not what the invasion is about. It’s all about oil and Trump’s collapsing support at home.”

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EX-ESPN STAR KEITH OLBERMANN CALLS FOR IMPEACHMENT OF TRUMP OVER VENEZUELA STRIKES THAT CAPTURED MADURO

Around the country, a handful of other Democrats referenced impeachment or impeachable offenses, but did not go as far as Wiener in demanding such proceedings.

Rep. April McClain-Delaney, D-Md., who represents otherwise conservative “Mountain Maryland” in the state’s panhandle, said Monday that Democrats should “imminently consider impeachment proceedings,” according to TIME.

McClain-Delaney said Trump acted without constitutionally-prescribed congressional authorization and wrongly voiced “intention to ‘run’ the country.”

SCHUMER BLASTED TRUMP FOR FAILING TO OUST MADURO — NOW WARNS ARREST COULD LEAD TO ‘ENDLESS WAR’

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One frequent Trump foil, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., cited in a statement that she has called for Trump’s impeachment in the past; blaming Republicans for letting the president “escape accountability.”

“Today, many Democrats have understandably questioned whether impeachment is possible again under the current political reality. I am reconsidering that view,” Waters said. 

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“What we are witnessing is an unprecedented escalation of an unlawful invasion, the detention of foreign leaders, and a president openly asserting power far beyond what the Constitution allows,” she said, while appearing to agree with Trump that Maduro was involved in drug trafficking and “collaborat[ion] with… terrorists.”

Wiener’s upcoming primary is considered the deciding election in the D+36 district, while a handful of other lesser-known candidates have reportedly either filed FEC paperwork or declared their candidacy, including San Francisco Councilwoman Connie Chan.

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California Congressman Doug LaMalfa dies, further narrowing GOP margin in Congress

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California Congressman Doug LaMalfa dies, further narrowing GOP margin in Congress

California Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) has died, GOP leadership and President Trump confirmed Tuesday morning.

“Jacquie and I are devastated about the sudden loss of our friend, Congressman Doug LaMalfa. Doug was a loving father and husband, and staunch advocate for his constituents and rural America,” said Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the House majority whip, in a post on X. “Our prayers are with Doug’s wife, Jill, and their children.”

LaMalfa, 65, was a fourth-generation rice farmer from Oroville and staunch Trump supporter who had represented his Northern California district for the past 12 years. His seat was one of several that was in jeopardy under the state’s redrawn districts approved by voters with Proposition 50.

Emergency personnel responded to a 911 call from LaMalfa’s residence at 6:50 p.m. Monday, according to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office. The congressman was taken to the Enloe Medical Center in Chico, where he died while undergoing emergency surgery, authorities said.

An autopsy to determine the cause of death is planned, according to the sheriff’s office.

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LaMalfa’s district — which stretches from the northern outskirts of Sacramento, through Redding at the northern end of the Central Valley and Alturas in the state’s northeast corner — is largely rural, and constituents have long said they felt underrepresented in liberal California.

LaMalfa put much of his focus on boosting federal water supplies to farmers, and seeking to reduce environmental restrictions on logging and extraction of other natural resources.

One LaMalfa’s final acts in the U.S. House was to successfully push for the reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools Act, a long-standing financial aid program for schools surrounded by untaxed federal forest land, whose budgets could not depend upon property taxes, as most public schools do. Despite broad bipartisan support, Congress let it lapse in 2023.

In an interview with The Times as he was walking onto the House floor in mid-December, LaMalfa said he was frustrated with Congress’s inability to pass even a popular bill like that reauthorization.

The Secure Rural Schools Act, he said, was a victim of a Congress in which “it’s still an eternal fight over anything fiscal.” It is “annoying,” LaMalfa said, “how hard it is to get basic things done around here.”

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In a statement posted on X, California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff said he considered LaMalfa “a friend and partner” and that the congressman was “deeply committed to his community and constituents, working to make life better for those he represented.”

“Doug’s life was one of great service and he will be deeply missed,” Schiff wrote.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement called LaMalfa a “devoted public servant who deeply loved his country, his state, and the communities he represented.”

“While we often approached issues from different perspectives, he fought every day for the people of California with conviction and care,” Newsom said.

Flags at the California State Capitol in Sacramento will be flown at half-staff in honor of the congressman, according to the governor.

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Before his death, LaMalfa was facing a difficult reelection bid to hold his seat. After voters approved Proposition 50 in November — aimed at giving California Democrats more seats in Congress — LaMalfa was drawn into a new district that heavily favored his likely opponent, State Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat who represents the state’s northwest coast.

LaMalfa’s death puts the Republican majority in Congress in further jeopardy, with a margin of just two votes to secure passage of any bill along party lines after the resignation of Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday evening.

Adding to the party’s troubles, Rep. Jim Baird, a Republican from Indiana, was hospitalized on Tuesday for a car crash described by the White House as serious. While Baird is said to be stable, the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson from Louisiana, will not be able to rely on his attendance. And he has one additional caucus member – Thomas Massie of Kentucky – who has made a habit of voting against the president, bringing their margin for error down effectively to zero.

President Trump, addressing a gathering of GOP House members at the Kennedy Center, addressed the news at the start of his remarks, expressing “tremendous sorrow at the loss of a great member” and stating his speech would be made in LaMalfa’s honor.

“He was the leader of the Western caucus – a fierce champion on California water issues. He was great on water. ‘Release the water!’ he’d scream out. And a true defender of American children.”

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“You know, he voted with me 100% of the time,” Trump added.

A native of Oroville, LaMalfa attended Butte College and then earned an ag-business degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He served in the California Assembly from 2002 to 2008 and the California State Senate from 2010 to 2012. Staunchly conservative, he was an early supporter of Proposition 209, which ended affirmative action in California, and he also pushed for passage of the Protection of Marriage Act, Proposition 22, which banned same-sex marriage in California.

While representing California’s 1st District, LaMalfa focused largely on issues affecting rural California and other western states. In 2025, Congressman he was elected as Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, which focuses on legislation affected rural areas.

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