The California lawmaker is leaving the GOP, reducing Johnson’s weak House majority
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The House representative from deep-blue California is leaving the GOP soon, narrowing the Republican margin, his office confirmed to Fox News Digital on Monday.
Rep. Kevin Kiley, Calif., had announced his intention to run as an independent in the Democratic-leaning district during the November midterms, but now he’s deciding to take on a new political identity early.
“This past week, we signed up out of favor with the team in California,” Kiley told local reporters, according to a recording obtained by Fox News Digital. “Today I am asking the clerk of the United States House of Representatives to have that listed on the official list…so I will be the only independent member of the House of Representatives.”
House Republicans already face a slim one-vote majority, which is expected to grow to two after a special election in deep-red Georgia this week.
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Rep. Kevin Kiley, Calif., questions Attorney General Pam Bondi during a House Judiciary Committee hearing at the Rayburn Building in Washington, DC, Feb. 11, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
Kiley said he would still negotiate with Republicans, however, to keep his House committee assignments.
“The rules of the House of Representatives force you, as a matter of administration, to hold a caucus with one party or the other, which, by the way, I don’t think is a good thing,” Kiley said.
“For example, your committee assignments are caucuses, so, you know, it really forces you to associate that sense of governance with one caucus or another in order to work and be able to serve your constituents in the House.”
Kiley’s decision to run as an Independent comes after his current seat in California’s 3rd congressional district was redrawn to lean more toward Democrats.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference in Los Angeles on Aug. 14, 2025. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential candidate for the White House in the 2028 cycle, led the charge in redrawing the maps to favor Democrats despite opposition from Golden State Republicans.
It was a direct response to Texas Republicans passing a new congressional map that would give the GOP an edge in up to five new seats.
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Kiley introduced legislation to prevent redistricting during the decade of both wars and strongly criticized the effort on both sides.
He also ran an independent series before formally withdrawing from the GOP, becoming one of the party’s biggest critics of Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for refusing to join the redistricting battle and keeping the House out of business during a 43-day government shutdown last year.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pauses to take questions from reporters as he arrives at the Republican Conference that closed early at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 3, 2026. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
Kiley announced in a statement last week that he will now run in California’s newly redrawn 6th congressional district, where the non-partisan Cook Political Report estimates it to be “D+5.”
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“It’s true that I was fully prepared to run in the new 5th, I tested the waters and the polls that show a good vision in a ‘safe’ district. But doing what’s easy and right is often not the same. And at the end of the day, as much as I love the communities of the 5th district that I now represent – and as happy as my district did not include a new office in my area. you feel right,” said Kiley.
“The new 6th district is leaning toward the Democratic Alliance but we have an open mind. Although this will be a very challenging race, I believe we can build a successful coalition to make sense. Thank you all for your encouragement and patience.”
