SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rep. Kevin Kiley and former Democratic state Sen. Richard Pan are virtually tied in the race for the Sacramento region’s 6th Congressional District race, according to a new poll by a group backing Kiley.

The poll, provided first to The Sacramento Bee, found Kiley and Pan each garnered roughly 37% support among 927 likely voters in the district. About 26% of those surveyed remain undecided or declined to say which congressional candidate they support.

The poll was conducted by the Independent Leadership Council, a new group founded this summer by former West Virginia U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin who was a longtime centrist member of the Democratic Party. The group is recruiting and supporting independent congressional candidates — including Kiley — across the country.

Kiley registered as “no party preference” in March after a long history with the Republican Party. He has recently committed to not caucus with Democrats or Republicans, if he wins in November — yet another attempt to showcase his independence.

The nearly statistical tie between the two candidates, per the poll, comes after a survey by the Independent Leadership Council in July found Kiley trailed Pan by 5%. Independent Leadership Council pollster Brett Loyd attributed Kiley’s increase to a larger number of voters in the district who have unfavorable views of both major political parties.

A record-high 45% of U.S. adults identified as political independents, according to a Gallup poll earlier this year.

“Having an independent candidate testing those waters to see if that’s something that they’re wanting is something that we’re seeing that over half of them are wanting,” said Loyd, who worked for President Donald Trump’s campaign in 2019 until he was one of three pollsters fired after damaging internal polling results were leaked to the media.

Kiley spokesperson Alex McDonald said in a statement the new tightened polling is not “surprising” and criticized Pan for not accepting more candidate debates. The two politicians participated in a candidate forum hosted by The Bee last month and have agreed to another event scheduled for next month. Kiley has challenged Pan to at least five debates.

“Pan would rather hide behind his negative ads paid for by out-of-state billionaires than face questions from the public and press,” McDonald said. “We once again renew our call for debates across the district. … It’s time for Pan to do the right thing and debate Kiley one-on-one and let voters see where the candidates stand. No more hiding, Richard.”

Pan’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment, though has repeatedly bashed Kiley for previous alignment with the Republican Party and a 2022 endorsement from Trump.

The two politicians are facing off in the November general election for the 6th 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.

Political experts consider Pan the favorite in the race as California’s 6th Congressional District has increased its Democratic voter registration under the new boundaries passed with Proposition 50.

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