Independent Rep. Kevin Kiley cites costs, checks and balances in election loss

Kiley left the Republican Party in March, becoming the House’s only independent

A week after losing his reelection bid in California, independent Rep. Kevin Kiley said Republicans failed to deliver the improvements voters wanted on the cost of living and fell short of their expectations for checks and balances in government.

Kiley made the comments in an interview with NPR’s Michel Martin for Morning Edition. He left the Republican Party in March, becoming the House’s only independent, though he continued to caucus with Republicans.

“I think that voters like to see checks and balances in our government, and saw that that wasn’t happening to the degree that they’d like,” Kiley said.

Kiley lost to Democrat Richard Pan in California’s newly redrawn 6th Congressional District. The new boundaries made his campaign more difficult, he said, particularly among voters unfamiliar with his record. The midterms saw the Democratic Party gain power across the country, according to NPR.

Still, Kiley said the campaign demonstrated a route for candidates outside the two major parties. “It wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but I think it did show there is a path for folks doing the sort of thing that I did,” he said.

Operating outside the two-party system carries obstacles, he said: campaign infrastructure and political incentives remain largely organized around Republicans and Democrats. “If you try to chart a different course, everything is arrayed against you,” he said.

Rather than focus on how Republicans can regain power, Kiley said he wants Congress to function better. That includes giving rank-and-file lawmakers more say and allowing bipartisan bills to reach the House floor without party leaders blocking them.

In the conversation with Martin, Kiley reflected on the broader lessons of the election and what it might take to move beyond partisan divisions, according to NPR.

Outside Washington, a more immediate change awaits: his wife is due to give birth to their first child in a few weeks. And while Kiley is leaving Congress, he is not ruling out a return to politics.

“I don’t think this is the end of the story,” he said.