Vice President Dick Cheney will host a Thursday morning fund-raiser in Sacramento to boost one of Congress´ most conservative voting members. That´s Rocklin Republican John Doolittle, who´s facing his first stiff primary challenge from a fellow Republican.

The Doolittle campaign has closed the Cheney breakfast to reporters and the public, calling it a private event.

Challenger Bill Kirby, an Auburn surgeon, says Doolittle´s hard right views no longer fit a district swelling with suburbanites from the San Francisco Bay Area. Doolittle is a top deputy to Texas Republican and House Majority Whip Tom DeLay.