Redding Rancheria makes last-minute investment into District 1 race, donating to Crye

The Redding Rancheria made a $5,900 donation to Shasta County Supervisor Kevin Crye’s campaign that was received on Election Day, a last-minute contribution to the District 1 race made months after a donation toward the District 5 race. 

The major donation from the Redding Rancheria showed up on a form published by the county on June 3. Per state law, candidates are required to publicly report contributions that total $1,000 or more within 24 hours of the donation. 

The Rancheria made the same maximum-allowed donation to Supervisor Chris Kelstrom but donated funds to his campaign much earlier, in late March. The Tribe explained the difference in timelines by saying that multiple candidates sought endorsement for the District 1 race, whereas Kelstrom was the only candidate who sought an endorsement for District 5, resulting in a different review and decision-making timeline. 

“The timing of campaign contributions can vary based on when candidates meet with the Tribal Council and when endorsement decisions are made,” the Rancheria said in an email statement. “The Redding Rancheria considers endorsements only after candidates have met with the Tribal Council to discuss issues important to our Tribe and community.” 

The Rancheria endorsed both Crye and Redding City Council member Erin Resner for District 1 supervisor. Shortly after this story was published, the Tribe provided follow-up comment noting that Resner did not request a financial donation while Crye did and emphasizing that both candidates “sought and received the Tribe’s equal endorsement.”

The Tribe also endorsed Assembly member Heather Hadwick for California State Assembly District 1, Assemblyman James Gallagher for U.S. Congress District 1 and Xavier Becerra for California governor. 

Major donations to both local and state candidates are not uncommon for the Redding Rancheria. In 2024, the Rancheria donated $5,500 to the “NO ON CRYE RECALL” campaign. Two years prior, the Rancheria donated to a variety of candidates: $5,500 to former Supervisor Patrick Jones, $4,900 to Sheriff Michael Johnson, $4,000 to Crye and $2,400 to former Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen. 

Campaign finance records show that while the Rancheria typically contributes to chosen campaigns several weeks before the respective election takes place, there have been other instances where the Tribe has donated shortly before an election. For example, the Rancheria donated $1,000 to Anderson Mayor Dan Gallier a day before the 2022 general election and $2,400 to John Greene — Sheriff Michael Johnson’s opponent — four days before the 2022 primary election. 

Publicly available campaign finance records show that in total, Crye brought in more than $135,000 — a combination of donations and a $50,000 loan to himself — for his 2026 campaign for District 1 supervisor. He only spent about $25,000, current records show, leaving just over $112,000 left in his account as of mid-May, when that number is combined with the recent Redding Rancheria donation.

It’s possible that Crye has spent more of his funds since his last filing about three weeks ago since campaign finance documentation of spending occurs on a different form than the one submitted for the Rancheria’s major donation.

Crye did not respond to a request for comment asking to confirm the leftover balance. He also did not answer questions about what he plans to do with his leftover funds and whether he was aware of why the Redding Rancheria chose to make a last-minute large payment so close to Election Day.

Crye is the only candidate in his race for District 1 supervisor to have such a high remaining balance. As of mid-May, Resner had more than $17,000 left in her account after spending about $46,000. Candidate Richard Gallardo spent more than $8,000 after having raised only about $5,600 through donations and loans. 

Resner is currently leading in the race for supervisor with 55.35% of the vote, though only about 1,000 votes separate her from Crye. The race is far from being called — while more than 28,500 votes have been counted, there are still about 30,000 ballots left to process. 

June 5, 2026 6:40 p.m.: This story had been updated to provide an additional comment from the Redding Rancheria.

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