Kevin Kiley rips Newsom’s redistricting plan, says governor’s out for personal gain
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kiley opposes Newsom's redistricting plan as a threat to GOP-held districts
- Kiley seeks bipartisan commission and legislation to block mid-decade maps
- Democrats aim to flip five seats in California, including Kiley’s district
Rep. Kevin Kiley’s rise as a Republican congressional force could be threatened by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s redistricting plan — and Kiley Thursday fought the proposal with both personal and policy weapons.
The Roseville Republican talked about how he’s asking House Speaker Mike Johnson to set up a bipartisan commission on redistricting reform.
Kiley is also pushing legislation that would bar mid-decade redrawing of congressional district lines, a plan that has some bipartisan support.
There was also a personal touch from Kiley at his news conference following the Newsom-led rally promoting the creation of new California congressional districts.
Currently Democrats hold 43 of the state’s 52 House seats but see the potential to pick up a net of five more seats in the state, including Kiley’s.
Redrawing his district to make it more likely to elect a Democrat, Kiley said Thursday, is “no surprise. Governor Newsom has been targeting me for some time.”
The reason for that, Kiley said, is “he is trying to silence and indeed eliminate political opposition.”
The congressman said that if his district is redrawn “I would nevertheless be in a position to win whatever district they create,” he said.
A solid Republican district
Kiley’s district includes part of the eastern Sacramento area and winds from Lake Tahoe to Death Valley. He won by 11 percentage points last year, and independent analysts regard his seat as “likely Republican” if the lines remain the same.
Newsom wants the Legislature to pass an amendment that would set a special election Nov. 4. Voters would be asked to approve new congressional lines that would be used in the next three congressional election cycles, starting next year.
Currently, those decisions are up to a nonpartisan Citizen Redistricting Commission, approved by voters in 2010. It would get its power back after the 2030 census.
Newsom’s action is a reaction to the fast-developing effort by President Donald Trump and lawmakers in Texas, and possibly other Republican-run states, to redraw their maps to give the GOP advantages in the 2026 election.
Currently Democrats need a net gain of three seats to win control of the House, and typically in mid-term elections the party running the White House loses seats. In 2018, during Trump’s first term, Republicans had a net loss of 40 seats and Democrats regained control.
‘An attack on the voters’
Kiley, speaking from his district office in Rocklin, explained that redrawing lines, no matter who they favor, is a bad idea.
Because California’s line-drawing commission was approved by voters, he said, trying to overturn its decision is “an attack on the voters of California, an attack on democracy in California and across the country.”
He cited a POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab poll taken in late July and early August showing state voters favored the independent commission as line-drawers by a 2 to 1 margin.
“That should be the end of the story, right?” asked Kiley.
Kiley vs. Newsom
He also maintained that Newsom was using the issue for personal gain.
The governor “has been posturing to run for president since his very first day in office as our governor. The problem is he doesn’t have any record to run on,” said Kiley.
“He’s trying to find some issue, any issue to create a spectacle” to center attention on himself, Kiley said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
The redistricting fight is the latest chapter in a bitter series of skirmishes between the ambitious up and coming Republican and a governor who appears to have his sights on bigger things himself.
Before being elected to the House in 2022, Kiley was a leader in the ultimately unsuccessful bid to recall Newsom, authoring a book titled, “Recall Newsom: The Case against America’s Most Corrupt Governor.”
Once he arrived at the Capitol in 2023, Kiley kept firing away in floor speeches, tweets and whatever form of communication he could find.
Pouring gas on the political fire
Kiley got his biggest win this spring, when Congress passed legislation that overturned California’s bid to phase out gasoline-powered vehicles.
After final passage of the bill, Kiley told reporters, “This is a very clear example of one person in this case, the governor, Gavin Newsom, issuing an order trying to dictate the choice of an automobile for millions and millions of Californians, actually tens of millions across the country,”
Kiley, 40, could move quickly into positions of influence because House Republicans are not as closely tied to the seniority system for promotion as Democrats. The median age of House member is 57.5.
He chairs the Education and Workforce Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee, a watchdog on those issues.
Kiley maintained that his own ambitions are not what’s driving his efforts on redistricting.
Whatever happens, he said, “I feel at the end of the day we’ll be fine.”
This story was originally published August 14, 2025 at 2:12 PM.
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