United States of America

California Rep. Kiley Leaves GOP, Becomes Independent

Did partisan gerrymandering force Kiley out or does his switch expose Republican hypocrisy on redistricting?

Published 1 day ago

California Rep. Kiley Leaves GOP, Becomes Independent

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Above: Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-Calif.), at a meeting in the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 11, 2026. Image credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images

The Spin

Republican narrative

Newsom's partisan gerrymandering forced Kiley out of the GOP after redrawing districts to favor Democrats, making it impossible for Republicans to compete fairly. The mid-decade redistricting war represents a direct assault on democracy, with California Democrats weaponizing maps in retaliation against Texas Republicans.

Daily Wire

Steve Hilton on X

Democratic narrative

Kiley's party switch exposes Republican hypocrisy on gerrymandering after the GOP launched redistricting wars across multiple states to maintain power. His defection shrinks Johnson's razor-thin majority even further, revealing the chaos and dysfunction plaguing House Republicans.

CNN

ABC 10 Northern California on Youtube