GOP Rep Kevin Kiley, Doomed By Gavin Newsom’s Gerrymander, Throws Hail Mary To Save Career

Screenshot/YouTube/Congressman Kevin Kiley

One of the Republicans targeted by Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s gerrymander announced Friday night he will seek reelection as an independent as a last-ditch attempt to save his longshot candidacy.

Republican California Rep. Kevin Kiley said in a video posted to X that to “protect our democracy” from Newsom’s voter-approved gerrymander, which will likely add five California Democrats to the House, he filed for reelection with “No Party Preference.” Kiley, a longtime critic of the Democratic governor, unexpectedly announced days earlier he would seek a third term in a newly-redrawn district former Vice President Kamala Harris carried by double digits in the 2024 presidential election.

“Gerrymandering is a plague on democracy, one that Gavin Newsom has brought back to California,” Kiley began his video statement. “But there’s a way we can fight back and protect our democracy from his partisan games: by removing partisanship from the equation. Today, I filed for reelection as ‘No Party Preference.'”

“This means I will not have a party affiliation on the ballot or as an officeholder,” he added, pointing out many local politicians in California including “mayors, city councilors, school board members, county supervisors, sheriffs” and district attorneys are elected in nonpartisan races.

California uses a top-two primary system for congressional races, meaning the two candidates who receive the most votes in the June 2 primary will advance to the November general election, regardless of party affiliation.

Kiley currently represents a sprawling rural and suburban district which backed President Donald Trump by four percentage points in 2024. Newsom’s gerrymander, which voters greenlit in November 2025 after passing Proposition 50 by a nearly 30-point margin, dismantles the district, dividing its territory between six new seats.

WATCH:

Gerrymandering is a plague on democracy, one that Gavin Newsom has brought back to California. But there’s a way we can fight back and protect our democracy from his partisan games: by removing partisanship from the equation. Today, I filed for reelection as “No Party… pic.twitter.com/OhGDzKtPEp

— Kevin Kiley (@KevinKileyCA) March 7, 2026

“As an elected representative, I’ve always seen my role as being an independent voice for our community, holding politicians in Sacramento and Washington accountable to serve my constituents. I answer to you, not party leaders,” the congressman continued. “That’s the kind of representation I believe the newly-drawn Sixth District deserves.”

Kiley added he has been “frustrated, at times disgusted, by the hyper-partisanship in Congress,” citing the record-breaking 43-day government shutdown in the fall of 2025, as well as the “massive increase in healthcare costs, and of course, a pointless redistricting war.”

“The epidemic of gerrymandering has spread from Texas to California to states all across the country. Both parties are complicit,” noted Kiley. The congressman in August 2025 proposed legislation to ban all mid-decade redistricting, but it never received a floor vote.

“If there is one thing Americans agree on, it is that political division has become a serious problem for our country. We need to find ways for politics to bring us together as Americans rather than tear us apart as partisans. That means, for example, finding pragmatic solutions to make life more affordable rather than each side blaming the other for why it isn’t,” the lawmaker added in the video.

Kiley did not specify whether he would still caucus with Republicans if he wins reelection as an independent. He remains a registered Republican and a member of the GOP conference in the current Congress. The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to the congressman’s office for clarification on this matter but did not immediately receive a response.

While the House as of Saturday has no independent members, there are currently two independents in the Senate, both caucusing with Democrats: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a socialist, and Maine Sen. Angus King, widely considered a liberal-leaning moderate.

The late Michigan Rep. Paul Mitchell was the most recent independent to serve in the House. He was elected twice as a Republican, declined to run for a third term, and left the party to become an independent in December 2020 after his GOP successor had already been elected. He served as an independent for only three weeks until his term expired in January 2021.

The most recent independent to win reelection to the House was Sanders in 2004.

Republican California Rep. Darrell Issa, another GOP lawmaker targeted by the Newsom-backed gerrymander, announced Friday night he would not run for reelection. Issa’s seat had been redrawn to include significantly more Democratic voters.