Rep. Kevin Kiley is ditching the Republican Party and re-registering as an independent, but he still plans to caucus with the party facing a razor-thin majority in the House.
Republicans now hold just 217 seats, and Kiley’s exit makes him the only member of the House not registered under any party.
Kiley is running in California’s Sixth Congressional District this November, and he currently represents the 3rd Congressional District. Kiley was heavily impacted by Prop. 50’s passage last year, which instituted mid-decade redistricting in favor of five Democratic-leaning seats in the Golden State.
“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 Preference,’” Kiley posted to X on Friday.
“This means I will not have a party affiliation on the ballot or as an officeholder. That’s how it already is with most offices in our state: mayors, city councilors, school board members, county supervisors, sheriffs, and DAs are all nonpartisan,” he continued.
On Monday, he said that he’s “asking the clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives to have that reflected in the official roster,” according to Axios. However, he did not inform Republican leadership ahead of his decision on Friday, Spectrum News DC reported.
The congressman has sponsored legislation to end mid-decade redistricting at the federal level, saying in an August statement that it would “stop a damaging redistricting war from breaking out across the country.”
Kiley took office in 2023 after being endorsed by President Donald Trump in 2022, after several years as a foe of Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats as a state assemblyman in Sacramento. The congressman voted in agreement with the president 98.3% of the time in 2025, according to VoteHub.
The Cook Political Report currently ranks both the third and sixth districts as “Solid Democrat” in the upcoming election, as Prop. 50 allows for a more Democrat-friendly redraw until the formal redistricting process occurs after the 2030 census.
The report ranks 18 House races as “toss-ups” this election cycle, with 14 others considered “Lean Democrat” and 4 considered “Lean Republican.” Both parties are expected to pour a hefty amount of financial resources into the hotly competitive districts in order to keep the majorities for the remainder of Trump’s presidency.
Mid-decade redistricting took place in several other states this year, including Texas, which added five Republican-favored seats.
On April 21, Virginia will also be voting on an amendment to allow for mid-decade redistricting intended to favor Democrats.
