California Rep. Kevin Kiley has officially ditched the Republican Party, becoming the first Independent in the lower chamber since 2019 amid his frustrations with GOP leadership and redistricting.
“Since gerrymandering seeks to elevate partisanship above everything else in our politics … the best way to counter gerrymandering and its insidious impacts on democracy is simply to take partisanship out of the equation,” Kiley told reporters, per Axios.
While Kiley (I-Calif.) will continue caucusing with Republicans for “administrative purposes,” his party affiliation switch complicates the GOP’s already razor-thin grip on the House.
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