Rep. Kevin Kiley of California said Monday that he's dropping his Republican Party affiliation and will serve as an independent, a change he said will take place immediately. The two-term congressman faces a tough reelection battle following the redrawing of the state's congressional boundaries, the AP reports. On Friday, he said he wouldn't be running again in the 3rd District, which he currently represents, but said he would be running in the Democratic-leaning 6th District without listing a party affiliation next to his name, reports Politico.
Kiley followed that decision up on Monday by telling reporters that he was asking the House clerk to reflect his change to independent in the House's official roster, though he will still caucus with Republicans to maintain his committee assignments. "So I will be the sole independent member of the House of Representatives," he said. With Kiley's move, Republicans will have a 217-214 majority in the House, with one independent. The last independent to serve in the House was Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, who dropped his Republican affiliation in 2019.
- Kiley had looked at an array of options after his district's boundaries were dramatically changed last year. In recent weeks, he was studying whether to run against fellow Republican Tom McClintock in a Republican stronghold or to take his chance in a Democratic-leaning district focused in the Sacramento area. He opted for the latter.
- Kiley said Monday that the move was a response to partisan gerrymandering, Axios reports. "Since gerrymandering seeks to elevate partisanship above everything else in our politics," he said, "the best way to counter gerrymandering and its insidious impacts on democracy is simply to take partisanship out of the equation."
- Asked whether he would be a reliable vote for House Speaker Mike Johnson, Kiley said, "I don't know if he would tell you I have been so far," adding that he would consider every bill on its own merits.
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