2024 Election: Fact-checking Kevin Kiley, Jessica Morse attack ads in Congressional District 3 race

DOCUDRAMA. TURNING NOW TO OUR COMMITMENT 2024 COVERAGE CANDIDATES ARE GOING BACK AND FORTH WITH CAMPAIGN ADS IN THE RACE FOR CALIFORNIA’S THIRD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT AND DEMOCRAT JESSICA MORSE IS GOING AFTER REPUBLICAN INCUMBENT KEVIN KILEY FOR HIS STANCE ON ABORTION. BUT KILEY SAYS HER CLAIMS JUST AREN’T TRUE. AND GETTING TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS, HERE’S KCRA THREE INVESTIGATES. LYSEE MITRI TO GET THE FACTS. KEVIN KILEY SHOULD NOT BE IN CONGRESS. JESSICA MORSE. DON’T BELIEVE HER. DON’T TRUST HER. THOSE ARE THE COMPETING CAMPAIGN ADS BETWEEN REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN KEVIN KILEY AND HIS DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGER, JESSICA MORSE. SO LET’S LOOK AT THEM. ONE AT A TIME AND FACT CHECK IT CLAIM BY CLAIM. WE’LL START WITH MORSE’S AD ATTACKING KILEY ON ABORTION. KEVIN KILEY WANTS TO BAN ABORTION NATIONWIDE WITH NO EXCEPTIONS FOR RAPE OR INCEST. NO EXCEPTIONS FOR SURVIVORS LIKE ME. THIS APPEARS TO BE BASED ON A PROPOSAL FROM THE HOUSE’S LARGEST GOP CAUCUS, THE REPUBLICAN STUDY COMMITTEE. IT DOES SUPPORT A BILL TO MAKE ABORTION ILLEGAL IN ALL CASES. BUT WHILE KILEY IS A MEMBER, HE SAYS HE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT PROPOSAL, AND HE DOES NOT SUPPORT IT. IN FACT, DURING A 2022 KCRA DEBATE, THE CONGRESSMAN TOLD US THEN THAT HE WOULD NOT SUPPORT A NEAR-TOTAL BAN ON ABORTIONS. BUT HE WOULDN’T SPECIFY IN WHICH CASES HE MIGHT SUPPORT EXCEPTIONS, SAYING INSTEAD THAT IT WAS A STATE ISSUE. NOW, HIS CAMPAIGN TELLS US HE DOES SUPPORT EXCEPTIONS IN CASES OF RAPE, INCEST OR WHEN A MOTHER’S LIFE IS IN DANGER. SO THIS CLAIM IS FALSE. NEXT, LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT AN AD FROM KILEY AGAINST MORSE. JESSICA MORSE CAN’T TELL THE TRUTH. THE SACRAMENTO BEE SAID THAT SHE STRETCHES THE TRUTH. SO IT IS TRUE THAT A 2018 ARTICLE SAID MORSE WAS STRETCHING THE TRUTH ABOUT HER RESUME IN A RUN FOR CALIFORNIA’S FOURTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT. IT CONCLUDED SHE BUILT A SERIOUS AND SUCCESSFUL CAREER WITHIN THE MILITARY STATE DEPARTMENT AND U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, BUT THAT SOME OF HER CLAIMS GAVE THE IMPRESSION SHE WAS A SENIOR OFFICIAL MAKING SWEEPING U.S. FOREIGN POLICY DECISIONS WHEN SHE WASN’T. NOW, LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT ONE MORE CLAIM. A JUDGE CAUGHT HER TRYING TO DECEIVE VOTERS ABOUT HER JOB TITLE. AGAIN, THIS GOES BACK TO MORSE’S 2018 RUN FOR U.S. CONGRESS. SHE WANTED TO INCLUDE NATIONAL SECURITY IN HER JOB TITLE ON THE BALLOT, BUT A JUDGE SAID IT WAS MISLEADING, MAINLY BECAUSE OF WHEN SHE WORKED IN NATIONAL SECURITY. ELECTION LAWS REQUIRE JOB TITLES ON A BALLOT TO BE CURRENT, AND MORSE HADN’T WORKED IN NATIONAL SECURITY SINCE 2015, SO THIS CLAIM IS TRUE. BACK TO YOU. KILEY IS THE REPUBLICAN INCUMBENT IN THE RACE, ELECTED IN 2022. HIS DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGER, MORSE, IS A WILDFIRE RESILIENCY SPECIALIST. SHE SERVED A

Candidates are going back and forth with campaign ads in the race for California’s 3rd Congressional District.Democrat Jessica Morse is going after Republican incumbent Kevin Kiley for his stance on abortion, but Kiley maintains her claims are not true. KCRA 3 reviewed both ads to Get the Facts.First, we take a look at the one funded by Morse’s campaign against Kiley.Claim: “Kevin Kiley wants to ban abortion nationwide with no exceptions for rape or incest, no exceptions for survivors like me.”This appears to be based on a budget from the House's largest GOP caucus, the Republican Study Committee. It does support a bill to make abortion illegal in all cases.However, while Kiley is a member of the RSC, he said he had nothing to do with that proposal and he doesn't support it.In fact, during a 2022 KCRA debate, the Congressman said he would not support a "near-total ban on abortions," but he also would not specify in which instances he might support exceptions. Instead, he simply said that it was a state issue.When KCRA inquired about this story, Kiley's campaign said he does support exceptions in cases of rape, incest or when a mother's life is in danger.So, this claim is false.Next is an ad from Kiley against Morse.Claim: "Jessica Morse can't tell the truth. The Sacramento Bee said that she stretches the truth."It is true that a 2018 Sacramento Bee article stated that Morse was "stretching the truth about her resume" in a run for California's 4th Congressional District.The article concluded that Morse "built a serious and successful career within the military, State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)" but that some of her claims gave "the impression that she was a senior official making sweeping U.S. foreign policy decisions.""She wasn’t," the Bee article stated.Claim: "A judge caught her trying to deceive voters about her job title." This also goes back to Morse's 2018 run for U.S. Congress. She sought to include "national security" in her ballot designation, but a judge said it was "misleading under Elec. Code 13107." That is mainly because of when Morse worked in national security.The Election Code outlines the following rules for ballot designations: No more than three words designating either the current principal professions, vocations, or occupations of the candidate or the principal professions, vocations or occupations of the candidate during the calendar year immediately preceding the filing of nomination documents.The job titles listed on a ballot need to be current whereas Morse had not worked in national security since 2015.So, this claim is mostly true.For more information about the November election, including key issues and other races on the ballot, check out the KCRA 3 Voter Guide.Find more political news from our national team here.

Candidates are going back and forth with campaign ads in the race for California’s 3^rd Congressional District.

Democrat Jessica Morse is going after Republican incumbent Kevin Kiley for his stance on abortion, but Kiley maintains her claims are not true. KCRA 3 reviewed both ads to Get the Facts.

First, we take a look at the one funded by Morse’s campaign against Kiley.

Claim: “Kevin Kiley wants to ban abortion nationwide with no exceptions for rape or incest, no exceptions for survivors like me.”

This appears to be based on a budget from the House's largest GOP caucus, the Republican Study Committee. It does support a bill to make abortion illegal in all cases.

However, while Kiley is a member of the RSC, he said he had nothing to do with that proposal and he doesn't support it.

In fact, during a 2022 KCRA debate, the Congressman said he would not support a "near-total ban on abortions," but he also would not specify in which instances he might support exceptions. Instead, he simply said that it was a state issue.

When KCRA inquired about this story, Kiley's campaign said he does support exceptions in cases of rape, incest or when a mother's life is in danger.

So, this claim is false.

Next is an ad from Kiley against Morse.

Claim: "Jessica Morse can't tell the truth. The Sacramento Bee said that she stretches the truth."

It is true that a 2018 Sacramento Bee article stated that Morse was "stretching the truth about her resume" in a run for California's 4th Congressional District.

The article concluded that Morse "built a serious and successful career within the military, State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)" but that some of her claims gave "the impression that she was a senior official making sweeping U.S. foreign policy decisions."

"She wasn’t," the Bee article stated.

Claim: "A judge caught her trying to deceive voters about her job title."

This also goes back to Morse's 2018 run for U.S. Congress.

She sought to include "national security" in her ballot designation, but a judge said it was "misleading under Elec. Code 13107." That is mainly because of when Morse worked in national security.

The Election Code outlines the following rules for ballot designations: No more than three words designating either the current principal professions, vocations, or occupations of the candidate or the principal professions, vocations or occupations of the candidate during the calendar year immediately preceding the filing of nomination documents.

The job titles listed on a ballot need to be current whereas Morse had not worked in national security since 2015.

So, this claim is mostly true.

For more information about the November election, including key issues and other races on the ballot, check out the KCRA 3 Voter Guide.

Find more political news from our national team here.

2024 Election: Fact-checking Kevin Kiley, Jessica Morse attack ads in Congressional District 3 race

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