Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) said Friday he has filed for reelection under California’s “No Party Preference” designation as debates over redistricting continue in California and other states ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
In a statement posted on X on March 6, Kiley remarked:
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 said the change means he will not have a party affiliation listed on the ballot or while serving in office if reelected, adding that many local offices in California already operate on a nonpartisan basis, including mayors, city council members, school board officials, county supervisors, sheriffs, and district attorneys.
“As an elected representative, I’ve always seen my role as being an independent voice for our community, holding politicians in Sacramento and Washington accountable to serve my constituents,” Kiley continued. “I answer to you, not party leaders. That’s the kind of representation I believe the newly-drawn Sixth District deserves.”
Explaining his decision, Kiley cited frustration with partisan politics in Congress. “It is no secret I’ve been frustrated, at times disgusted, by the hyper-partisanship in Congress,” he wrote, adding that in the last year it had contributed to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, increased health care costs, and what he called “a pointless redistricting war.”
“The epidemic of gerrymandering has spread from Texas to California to states all across the country,” Kiley stated. “Both parties are complicit.”
Kiley contended that the country needs ways for politics to “bring us together as Americans rather than tear us apart as partisans.” He said that includes “finding pragmatic solutions to make life more affordable rather than each side blaming the other.”
Kiley concluded that the country is experiencing “a moment of dramatic transformation,” saying technological change could bring “incredible opportunities along with unfamiliar risks.” He declared that “the ordinary rituals of partisan politics” are “simply inadequate in these extraordinary times” and stressed the importance of the country’s ability to “work as one team, serving all Americans.”
The dispute over redistricting in California intensified in August 2025 when Gov. Gavin Newsom posted a letter to X urging President Donald Trump to call on governors in Republican-led states to halt redistricting efforts. Newsom warned that if those efforts continued, California could redraw its own congressional maps to offset what he described as partisan actions elsewhere. California’s current congressional districts were drawn by an independent citizens’ redistricting commission that has been in place for nearly two decades.
Newsom’s effort came amid discussions in the state legislature about holding a special election that could amend the state constitution and allow lawmakers to replace the commission’s maps. State officials estimated such a special election could cost more than $200 million.
“What Gavin Newsom has envisioned is just sort of uniquely corrupt,” Kiley responded at the time. He argued the governor was trying to “transfer their authority to himself and the super majority legislature to toss out the independent, nonpartisan map they came up with.”
Kiley also cautioned the effort was aimed at imposing “a hyper partisan map that is aiming to reduce California’s Republican representation in Congress from nine seats out of 52 to 3 seats out of 52.”
Kiley has also pursued federal legislation addressing redistricting. In August 2025, he announced plans to introduce a bill to prohibit mid-decade redistricting across the country and nullify any new congressional maps adopted between censuses.
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