Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., announced Friday that he will seek reelection this year as an independent and drop his affiliation with the GOP at the end of his current term.
A spokesperson for Kiley told NBC News that the two-term congressman will go independent if voters send him back to Washington in November.
Kiley has recently bucked his party by voting with Democrats to terminate President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada. He has also been an outspoken critic of the redistricting effort in California, which drew him out of his current district.
“It is no secret I’ve been frustrated, at times disgusted, by the hyper-partisanship in Congress,” Kiley said in a statement Friday night.
The congressman blamed partisanship for the record-long government shutdown last fall, a spike in health care costs and redistricting across numerous states ahead of the 2026 midterms.
He said “both parties are complicit” in the “epidemic of gerrymandering.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has said that his state’s redistricting efforts were a direct response to Texas being the first state to redraw its congressional boundaries mid-decade, with President Donald Trump’s backing, in a move designed to net Republicans more seats in November.
In a dig at Newsom, Kiley said, “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.’”
The National Republican Congressional Committee — the campaign arm of House Republicans — did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Kiley’s announcement.
Republicans in November are seeking to defend their slim majority in the House, where they hold a 218-214 advantage over Democrats.
California’s new congressional map drew Kiley out of his current district, where he won in 2024 with 55.5% of the vote. He is seeking another term in the newly redrawn 6th Congressional District.
The House does not have any independents serving this term. The Senate has two independents — Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine — who both caucus with the Democrats.
Kiley's announcement came the same day that fellow California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, who is also in a redrawn district, said he would not be running for reelection.
“This decision has been on my mind for a while and I didn’t make it lightly,” Issa said in a post on X. “After a quarter-century in Congress — and before that, a quarter-century in business — it’s the right time for a new chapter and new challenges.”
Issa endorsed San Diego Supervisor Jim Desmond as his successor in the 48th Congressional District.
The number of House members this election cycle saying they won’t seek another term is at its highest level since 1992, when 65 lawmakers retired.
With Issa’s announcement Friday, 55 members have said they won’t seek reelection in 2026. The number includes 34 Republicans and 21 Democrats, with many of the GOP lawmakers running for governor or Senate.
