GOP-turned-independent predicts redistricting war could spawn a third party

Rep. Kevin Kiley's, Calif., departure from the GOP this week has further narrowed the party's majority in the lower chamber and has him thinking that some lawmakers may follow his lead and create an independent block in Congress, or even a third party.

Kiley formally left the GOP this week and became an independent, though he continues to caucus with the GOP. He previously announced his intent to seek reelection as an independent instead of as a Republican. The move followed California Democrats redrawing his congressional district to heavily favor their party.

"A contingent of independence in the House"

"We had independent redistricting in the state, a citizens commission put in place by our voters to draw neutral district lines. But Newsom came in and sidelined the commission, and they instituted their own part of the map," he said on the John Solomon Reports podcast.

Kiley suggested that his move to become an independent might encourage other embattled incumbents to do the same and ultimately form a middle bloc that could impact the way the House operates.

"I wouldn't be surprised, and if my doing this, can encourage or make it easier for others to do so," he said, "I think that actually [could] be a good thing if we had some contingent of independence in the House. You know, it could make things function a little differently if you get to a critical mass. And maybe it sort of makes the partisan structure of things there a little less deeply rooted."

As to the prospects of a third party, Kiley sounded a less optimistic tone, but hinted that frustration with the status quo in Congress and the current system could eventually force a change.

Breaking partisan rituals

"I think actually you're going to see that even more so in the next few years with just technological advancements that are going to change society in ways that are very hard to predict, and so it's kind of hard for me to imagine that just, kind of like the partisan rituals that we have right now, which are, in a sense, just so tedious, like the way that everything is just so divided along party lines," he said.

"That's just not a system that's very well adapted, I think, for grappling with times of significant change," Kiley went on. "So, I do think that there's, however you want to look at it, an opportunity, or maybe even an inevitability, that you're going to see some sort of change in the whole political environment, and so whatever way that leads, I think it's kind of hard to predict, but I'm hoping you know that the step that I've taken here can be a first step in trying to push things in the right direction."

As to gerrymandering, Kiley called for congressional intervention on the issue, suggesting that a federal mandate for independent commissions or a limit on redraws outside the 10-year cycle could at least partially address the matter.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.