Rep. Kevin Kiley leaves Republican Party to run as an independent

A Northern California representative announced that he would be dropping his affiliation with the Republican Party, opting instead to run as an independent in his upcoming election.

Rep. Kevin Kiley, of California's 3rd Congressional District, made the announcement on social media last week after filing for his third term as a “No Party Preference" candidate, citing his frustration regarding "hyper-partisanship in Congress" and the recent decision by California voters to redraw districts in the upcoming election.

"Gerrymandering is a plague on democracy, one that Gavin Newsom has brought back to California," Kiley said on X, referencing the California governor. "But there’s a way we can fight back and protect our democracy from his partisan games: by removing partisanship from the equation."

Throughout his last two terms in Washington, the California lawmaker occasionally broke from the Republican Party's agenda, most recently voting with Democrats to rescind the emergency declaration that President Donald Trump used to impose tariffs.

"It is no secret I’ve been frustrated, at times disgusted, by the hyper-partisanship in Congress," Kiley said. "In the last year, it’s led to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, a 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."

On Monday, Kiley asked the U.S. House of Representatives clerk to officially change his party affiliation from Republican to independent, though he confirmed to CNN that he would continue to caucus with Republicans.

"In terms of the way that I approach my role here, I am an independent, and as I have been throughout my time here, I’ll be an independent voice fighting for our district,” he told CNN.

How Prop 50 affected Rep. Kevin Kiley

Kiley was one of the five congressional Republicans whose districts were broken up as part of Proposition 50, a measure that temporarily redraws California's congressional maps to increase the chances of winning more Democratic seats and counteract a similar effort in favor of Republican-leaning districts in Texas.

Prior to the proposition's approval by voters, California's 3rd Congressional District represented a large portion of the state. It encompassed regions such as Roseville, a major suburb of Sacramento, and Chester, a town north of the Lassen Volcanic National Park, to Death Valley National Park in Central California.

But as part of the new congressional map, the district was split into several Democratic-leaning districts and one largely Republican district, leaving Kiley in limbo among the new boundaries in Northern California.

Initially, Kiley planned to run for re-election in the newly created 5th Congressional District, which encompassed rural towns along the Sierra Nevada Mountain range and what he considered a "safe" Republican House seat.

Instead, Kiley opted to file for the "more challenging race" in California's newly created 6th Congressional District, a Democratic-leaning region that includes portions of Placer and Sacramento counties.

"I was born, raised, and went to local public schools in Placer and Sacramento Counties, which I’ve always called home. They’ve been the core of my district during my time in elected office," Kiley said in a social media post on March 3.

"At the end of the day, as much as I love the communities in the 5th District that I represent now – and as excited as I was about the new ones – seeking office in a district that doesn’t include my hometown didn’t feel right."

Kiley believes that he can create a "winning coalition" with voters in California's 6th Congressional District, noting that residents are "Democratic-leaning but open-minded."

Who is running for California's 6th Congressional District?

The seat in California's newly created 6th Congressional District is crowded and competitive, as expected for a district without an incumbent.

Currently, there are eight people on the candidate list for the district: five Democrats, two Republicans and Kiley as the only independent candidate.

Among the list are a few heavy hitters, including Kiley; notably, Martha Guerrero, the mayor of West Sacramento; Thien Ho, the Sacramento County district attorney; and Richard Pan, who previously served in the California Assembly and Senate from 2012 to 2022.

Here is a list of the candidates currently in the race for California's 6th Congressional District:

• Lauren Babb Tomlinson (D) - Babb Tomlinson currently serves as the chief public affairs officer at Planned Parenthood Advocates Mar Monte. She's running for Congress to address the affordability crisis and protect Americans' rights, according to her campaign website.
• Christine Bish (R) - Bish is a real estate agent and small business owner based in Sacramento. She's running for Congress with the goal of lowering taxes, providing cost-effective educational solutions, addressing water quality and flood management, tackling homelessness, ending sanctuary cities, and restoring Second Amendment freedoms, according to her campaign website.
• Martha Guerrero (D) - Guerrero serves as the mayor of West Sacramento, first elected by residents in 2020 and then reelected in 2024. She is focused on addressing the affordability crisis many face, protecting people's rights, reducing health care costs, tackling homelessness, and strengthening the public education system, according to her campaign website.
• Thien Ho (D) - Ho serves as the Sacramento County district attorney and played a pivotal role in prosecuting the Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, in 2020. He is running to expand access to health care, lower the cost of housing, protect working families, and defend democracy, according to his campaign website.
• Kevin Kiley (I) - Kiley serves as the representative for California's 3rd Congressional District. He is running to retain his seat in California's Congressional delegation and fighting against "hyper-partisanship in Congress."
• Richard Pan (D) - Pan previously served in the California Assembly and Senate from 2012 to 2022, where he spearheaded legislation that reduced the uninsured rate in California. He is running for Congress to hold the Trump administration accountable for how it's handled the country's healthcare and, in turn, "endangering Americans", according to his campaign website.
• Raymond Riehle (R) - Riehle is a business owner and an active member of the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce. He is running to lower taxes, provide more funding to law enforcement, secure the border and tackle the "woke agenda," according to his campaign website.
• Tyler Vandenberg (D) - Vandenberg is a veteran who wants to address the "chaos" of Washington, according to his campaign website. He plans on tackling housing and health care issues as well as "building a safer America" for migrants, women and members of the LGBTQ community.

One candidate, Craig Deluz (R), initially planned to run for the seat but confirmed to the Sacramento Bee that he suspended his campaign in September due to "family health issues."