This press release is courtesy of the Joe Kerr for Congress campaign.
Republicans are using a fake progressive PAC to help the Democrat they want to face in November
CALIFORNIA’S 40TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT— A bombshell investigation from Popular Information has exposed what CA-40 voters deserve to know before Election Day: a supposedly progressive super PAC boosting Esther Kim Varet is linked to House Republican political networks.
The PAC, California Blue, claims to support candidates who will “fight Donald Trump and MAGA extremists.” But according to Popular Information, the money trail tells a very different story.
California Blue registered with the FEC on April 24 and has spent exclusively in California’s 40th Congressional District to support Esther Kim Varet. The group’s money is being routed through a newly formed Wyoming LLC, Four Ponies Consulting, a setup Popular Information reports appears designed to obscure the PAC’s true political intentions.
The investigation also links the operation to the same Austin mailbox used by other suspicious political committees, including one connected to Republican operative Lisa Lisker, treasurer for House Speaker Mike Johnson’s campaign committee and a firm that works with the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).
California Blue has one purpose: spending money in CA-40 to benefit Esther Kim Varet.
Voters should ask why a newly created “progressive” PAC with reported ties to Republican political networks chose to involve itself in exactly one Democratic primary race.
For months, Esther Kim Varet has pointed to Republican attacks as evidence that she is the Democrat Republicans fear most. The Popular Information investigation tells a different story. Republican-linked operatives have been spending money to help elevate her candidacy.
That’s not fear. That’s political strategy.
In California’s top-two primary, Republicans don’t need to beat every Democrat on Tuesday. They only need to help the Democrat they believe will be easiest to defeat in November. This is a classic pied-piper strategy: boost the opponent you want, weaken the opponent you fear, and hope voters don’t notice until it is too late.
“Republican operatives aren’t spending money to help the Democrat they’re afraid of,” said Joe Kerr. “They’re spending money to help the Democrat they think they can beat.”
Joe Kerr is the only Democrat in this race who has already demonstrated the ability to build a districtwide coalition capable of winning in CA-40. In 2024, Kerr earned 171,637 votes, improved Democratic performance in the district, and built support among Democrats, independents, labor households, working families, first responders, and crossover voters. That is exactly the kind of coalition Republicans don’t want to face in November.
CA-40 voters deserve to know when Republican political networks are attempting to influence a Democratic primary. “Democrats should choose their nominee,” Kerr said. “Republicans shouldn’t be choosing our nominee for us.”
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That’s a nonsensical take, it’s actually the opposite.
What this actually tells us is that Calvert’s private internal polling shows that Kim-Varet can and will clear the primary and squeeze out Young Kim.
Kim-Varet has no more control over how republicans spend from their superpacs than any other of the dozens of candidates around the country where the same is happening, and by the way Democrats do this for republican candidates too.
Kerr wishes that someone! anyone! would spend to support him, but no takers for a 5 time serial loser.
Meanwhile Kerr’s campaign sent to voters an SMS blast over the weekend falsely claiming that Gov Newsom endorsed him for this election which is completely untrue. But Kerr didn’t even have the courage to make this bogus claim on his social media accounts. Kerr’s lame lies and irresponsible hypocrisy have no bottom, he is more shameless than Calvert!
What’s more scandalous is ekv considers the truth oc to be the county’s LEADING DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL COMMENTARY PUBLICATION. It’s only been in existence like 2 years.
Esther’s husband wrote 5 paragraphs and his entire argument boils down to:
“Republicans are helping Esther because she’s too strong.”
Sure, Jan.
Ekv is so desperate she is recycling messages from truth oc as her fan mail.
https://x.com/estherkimvaret/status/2061620531128910250?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
https://open.substack.com/pub/thetruthoc/p/a-praise-jesus-final-look-at-the?utm_source=direct&utm_campaign=comment-list-share-cta&utm_medium=web&comments=true&commentId=268412672
For someone who hates Jill Stein voters, ekv took an endorsement from Jane Kim who has no chance of winning. It’s her only endorsement from any Asian American in Caleeeefornia!
Not sure about it as there’s no polling I could find, and not too much commentary. I’m thinking Ben Allen and Jane Kim advance to the general, but we will see. Any articles you found that indicate Jane is more of a Jill Stein spoiler?
Ekv thinks an endorsement from a candidate for insurance commissioner and former San Francisco supervisor who has no name recognition outside of San Francisco is something CA-40 voters should consider. Pfft. How about an endorsement from an Orange County supervisor?
Still not seeing the logic behind the Jill Stein comment with respect to Jane Kim. That argument refers to being a spoiler, with no chance of winning but taking votes away from another candidate. In contrast, Jane Kim is in first place currently (1,101,798 to her nearest competitor Ben Allen 894,232). Of course, these are not certified results and are subject to change. However, I just don’t understand the “Jill Stein” argument that you proposed with respect to the Insurance Commissioner race.
I was wrong about Jane Kim’s chances to win the primary. What have you been wrong about?
I think the irony is lost on Jeff Pearlman that he interviewed Ekv
And went so far as to encourage residents in CA40 to vote for her without nary a mention of her being married into a prominent American Jewish Zionist family with neoconservative and Islamophobic leanings.
He couldn’t even link Ekv to sears-roebuck. He is a journalist like a pop tart is bakery fresh danish. I wonder if his east coast Jewish liberalism caused him to have a blind spot.
Not sure I follow. Are you stating Pearlman has journalistic bias due to his Jewish religion?
Mvreason, you are assuming that Pearlman is Jewish by religion and not birth.
Did you know some people are actually born genetically Jewish. You can change your religion like you do your jeans but not your genes.
And, it’s not xenophobic to claim a person acts a certain way because of their belief system. Their genetic makeup may be but not their beliefs.
If you want to root out anti-Semitism, talk to me after you clear out Israel of its anti-semitism and xenophobia. Sheesh!!
Thanks for clarifying. Your argument is based on his ethnic heritage being born into a Jewish family.
You are confused. Or have a reading comprehension problem.
My argument is based on Pearlman being a myopic sensationalist
.
That would apply to Bari Weiss, no??
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bari-Weiss
https://www.jta.org/2025/10/06/united-states/bari-weiss-free-press-founder-who-started-as-antisemitism-crusader-named-editor-in-chief-of-cbs
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/apr/30/bari-weiss-cbs-shayndi-raice
That could apply to wolf blitzer, no? You are either hopelessly naive or trying to be clever.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4F135FB57AC6694D&si=ee-DZ7lrP0cwXHvH
https://theintercept.com/2024/03/03/wolf-blitzer-aipac-israel-si-kenan-cnn/ (use reader to get behind wall)
https://theintercept.com/2024/03/03/israel-our-palestine-question-zionism-american-jews/
No I’m stating he is a hypocrite and im sarcastically referencing John Rocker. And, sorry to inform you but Judaism is not merely a religion.
Rocker, the former Braves pitcher?
Yeah that was Pearlman’s claim to fame as sports illustrated reporter. Torching Rocker as a racist. You didn’t know that??
15 months ago, Pearlman was saying she should be running for Congress in CA-40. He had 15 months to link her to the Sears-Roebuck clan and their American Jewish Zionist, neoconservative, Islamophobia brand and did not. Instead flip flopping and encouraging others to vote for her because she drinks black coffee and cusses a lot. Not much of a journalist.
https://www.thetruthoc.com/p/esther-kim-varet-is-a-democrat-shes
He’s an excellent journalist and a talented writer. That said, his CA40 coverage always favored the last person he spoke to.
You don’t know anything about him. You didn’t even know how he made a name for himself in sports journalism before he became a writer.
Actually I do know his sportswriting; he has a new book out about Tupac that I’m not interested in. We have a mutual friend in author Howard Bryant whom my wife and I have known for more than 30 years. Howard gave my wife a lot of good advice when her book came out in 2022. I think he generally does a nice job with his new site and he’ll get better as he gains more institutional knowledge about OCpolitics
He’s a parrot that parrots what he sees.
A decade before the Rocker incident
this happened. You could say he is a Bari Weiss prototype.
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/11/arts/public-enemy-rap-group-reorganizes-after-anti-semitic-comments.html
Ekv elecctioneers with child exploitation.
https://x.com/estherkimvaret/status/2061896920721731645?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
What a surprise.
The candidate that parachuted in for a vanity project.
For a vanity project.
Who is also being backed by the GOP.
Ends up being the one who keeps a Dem from being in the general election.
If EKV was not a MAGA plant. She was the best useful idiot the GOP could have ever wanted.
I ask again. Why didn’t she run for the seat where she lived just two short years ago?
Where she never voted.
re: “I ask again. Why didn’t she run for the seat where she lived just two short years ago?”
She’s answered this many times. She moved here as part of her goal to flip the CA40 district from Red to Blue. I have not checked her previous district, but I think (not sure) that it was already Blue as there are only a few Red districts in that greater area.
As far as super PAC funding by GOP influencers (presumably, but cloaked), Esther has the strongest policy statement against Citizens United which enables this activity. She could not and did not influence Independent Expenditure media purchases by such super PAC’s, whether they would be in support or opposition of her campaign. To be fair, Joe has a related statement about transparency. Lisa does not have anything in her policy statements concerning this topic. (source: the web pages of the candidates).
You wrote;
“She moved here as part of her goal to flip the CA40 district from Red to Blue. I have not checked her previous district, but I think (not sure) that it was already Blue as there are only a few Red districts in that greater area.”
If that were truly her motive. She would have supported someone who has actually lived in the district. Or at least nearby. Giving that candidate a better chance of success.
This was a vanity project for her. Nothing else.
I might believe you if she stays and runs again. But I doubt it. I predict she moves back to her Hancock Park enclave before the 4th of July.
Forgot to mention.
The real winners here were her consultants. They made bank off a candidate with deep pockets. I am sure even they knew she was a longshot at best. But kept her pumped full of false hope. As long as the checks did not bounce.
Why did Ekv take money from her husband’s aunt?
Ekv is blaming anti-semitism in the Democratic Party for her demise.