Rep. Kevin Kiley opts against challenging fellow Republican Tom McClintock
Northern California Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin), whose congressional district was split under redistricting ballot measures approved by voters last year, announced Monday that he will not challenge fellow Republican Rep. Tom McClintock. He plans to run instead in the Democratic-leaning district where he resides.
“It’s true that I’m fully prepared to compete [McClintock’s district]has tested the waters and polls have shown a positive outlook for a ‘safe’ region. But doing what’s easy and doing what’s right are often not the same thing,” Kiley shared on social media site X. “And at the end of the day, as much as I love the communities within [that] “As excited as I am about the district I currently represent – and the new ones – it just didn’t feel right to serve in a district that doesn’t include my hometown.”
Kiley, 41, currently represents a congressional district that stretches from Lake Tahoe to Sacramento. He did not respond to requests for comment.
But Kiley’s district was split into other districts in November after California voters passed Proposition 50, a ballot measure aimed at redrawing the state’s congressional districts to counter Trump’s moves to increase the number of Republicans in Congress.
As the application deadline approached, Kiley reflected on her path forward, a decision that has been compared by political insiders to the reality television show “The Bachelor.” Who would get the final rose? McClintock’s new and expanded congressional district consists of the gold district, Central Valley and Death Valley. The district in which Kiley chose to run includes the city of Sacramento and the suburbs of Roseville and Rocklin in Placer County.
Kiley was facing headwinds from Republican institutional support behind McClintock, 69, who has been in Congress since 2009 and previously served in the state Legislature for 26 years. President Trump, the California Republican Party and the political action committee of the Club for Growth are among the individuals and groups supporting McClintock.
Conservative strategist Jon Fleischman, a former executive director of the state GOP, said he was thrilled with Kiley’s decision, which avoided a divisive intra-party fight.
“If you open the dictionary and look up the word conservative, it’s a photo of Tom McClintock. He’s been the ideological leader of conservatives for many years, not only in California but in Congress,” Fleischman said, adding that the endorsements for McClintock came on purpose because Kiley was considering challenging him.
Raised near Sacramento, Kiley attended Harvard University and Yale Law School. A former Teach for America fellow, he served six years in the state House before being elected to Congress in 2022 with Trump’s support. But he disagreed with the President, especially on the issue of tariffs. He also ran unsuccessfully to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom during the 2021 recall and has consistently criticized the governor.
Kiley is currently running in a Sacramento-area district represented by Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove). Democrats in the newly elected district had a nearly 9-point voter registration advantage in 2024. Bera is currently competing in the new version of the Kiley district.
Kiley’s biggest challenger in the new race is former state senator and staunch vaccine supporter Dr. Richard Pan.
“Kevin Kiley may try to rebrand himself, but voters know he has an outstanding record,” Pan said in a statement. “He sided with Donald Trump 98% of the time and was named a ‘MAGA Champion.’ The people of this district deserve better than political opportunism disguised as moderation. This race is really about who’s going to fight for healthcare, public health and working families. I’ve done that my entire career. Kevin Kiley hasn’t done that.”
