NEW: GOP Congressman Leaves Party, Becomes Independent

In a surprising Capitol Hill shakeup, U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, a Republican announced that he will be leaving the party in order to become an independent.

Kiley, who represents California’s 3rd Congressional District, cited concerns over “partisanship” and gerrymandering as key factors in his decision. He has requested that the House clerk update his affiliation immediately, making him the sole independent member in the House of Representatives.

Despite the change, Kiley has stated he will continue to caucus with Republicans to retain his committee assignments.

Kiley’s move follows the redrawing of California’s congressional districts under Proposition 50, a voter-approved measure that wiped out five Republican-controlled districts ahead of this year’s midterm elections. Despite receiving 42 percent of the vote in the 2024 presidential election, Republicans are projected to control just four seats in California after the Newsom-backed changes.

The measure split Kiley’s current 3rd District, which spans portions of Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, and several other counties along the California-Nevada border, into multiple new districts. This left Kiley without a straightforward path to reelection in a Republican-leaning area.

On March 2, 2026, he declared his intention to run for the newly drawn 6th Congressional District, which includes areas like Roseville, Rocklin, and Orangevale.

“It is no secret I’ve been frustrated, at times disgusted, by the hyper-partisanship in Congress,” the congressman said when announcing his decision to leave the Republican Party. “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.”

He further elaborated that “since gerrymandering seeks to elevate partisanship above everything else in our politics the best way to counter gerrymandering and its insidious impacts on democracy is simply to take partisanship out of the equation.”

Kiley also noted that internal polling showed he could win in the safer Republican 5th District, but he chose the 6th to stay connected to his home communities.

The 6th District presents a challenge for Kiley, as it leans to the left. According to data from California Target Book, a nonpartisan election analysis service, former Vice President Kamala Harris would have carried the district by more than six percentage points in the 2024 presidential election.

Throughout his tenure, Kiley has largely voted with Republicans but has also deviated from the party line on numerous occasions. Heritage Action, a conservative advocacy group, assigned him a 62% score for the 118th Congress (2023-2024), below the average for House Republicans.

Kiley has dissented from GOP positions on several occasions, particularly in criticizing party leadership. During last year’s Democrat-backed shutdown, Kiley criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and insinuated that he was at fault for the crisis. He has also broken ranks on votes related to government operations and redistricting reforms

As Kiley campaigns in the 6th District, his independent status may broaden his appeal in a left-leaning district, though it complicates the GOP’s slim House majority. The primary is set for June 2, 2026, with potential opponents including Democrats like former state Senator Richard Pan and Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho.

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