Ex-GOP congressman tries to save Democrats from losing redistricting war — but Hakeem Jeffries doesn't want his help

Rep. Kevin Kiley was elected as a Republican in 2022 to represent California's 3rd district in the U.S. Congress.

After the Golden State's Democratic gerrymander effectively reduced to nil his chances of getting re-elected with an "R" next to his name, Kiley filed to run as an independent in the nonpartisan primary for California's newly drawn 6th district.

'This arms race could create a new norm.'

"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. I answer to you, not party leaders," said Kiley, who had a 77.42% lifetime score in Turning Point Action's rating system.

On his way out the GOP door, the newly minted free agent complained about gerrymandering, noting that "both parties are complicit" and that "political division has become a serious problem for our country."

Kiley — one of the few casualties on the right of the redistricting war that Republicans are now winning in a big way thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Callais — is asking Democrats to help him pass a bill that would prohibit states from engaging in mid-cycle redistricting and changing their congressional maps more than once a decade.

The former Republican told Axios on Wednesday that he has written to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, asking the radical Democrat and his cronies to support a discharge petition that would force a vote on his ban.

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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

"This arms race could create a new norm where maps are redrawn to gain a temporary advantage every two years," Kiley wrote to Jeffries. "The result will be chaos for our democracy: a weakening of representation, a further polarization of Congress, and a deepening of the distrust and division that threaten our country's future."

Some Democratic lawmakers who, like Kiley, are on tilt after having their districts redrawn, are receptive to the idea of a ban.

Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), for instance, said he'd sign on, noting, "Why wouldn't I? Both parties need to get behind ending this. It's gonna kill the democracy."

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D), whose Kansas City-based district lawmakers transformed last year into a GOP-leaning Missouri seat, is another desperate lawmaker supportive of the ban, stating that "of course" he would sign onto the discharge petition.

Jeffries — whose help Kiley acknowledged was critical to the petition's success — apparently has no interest in helping the independent with his crusade.

Christie Stephenson, a spokeswoman for Jeffries, told Axios, "Kevin Kiley's unserious legislation would supercharge partisan gerrymandering by Red states while putting Democratic-led ones at a serious disadvantage."

"Leader Jeffries has no plans to support it," Stephenson added.

This is at odds with Kiley's statement earlier this month, where he noted, "Minority Leader Jeffries has announced he supports my proposal to prohibit mid-decade redistricting."

Former Democratic Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee (Texas), who passed away in 2024, introduced the same legislation to ban mid-cycle redistricting in the last Congress.

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