Kevin Kiley is a lawyer and former teacher who served in the California State Assembly from 2016 to 2022 and has represented California in the U.S. House since 2023. He was elected as a Republican and in March 2026 announced he was leaving the party to serve as an independent, though he still caucuses with Republicans. After Proposition 50 redrew the state's districts, he is running in the 6th District.[1][2][3]
Kiley is the son of a special education teacher and, according to his official biography, grew up in the district and graduated from Granite Bay High School.[1] He earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 2007, a master's in secondary education from Loyola Marymount University in 2009, and a law degree from Yale Law School in 2012.[2][1] He began his career as a 10th-grade English teacher at Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles, where, according to his official biography, he chaired the English Department and founded a speech and debate team.[1]
After law school Kiley worked as a lawyer, including on the civil case against Huawei Technologies over intellectual property theft, and later became a California Deputy Attorney General; Ballotpedia also lists adjunct professor among his past roles.[1][2] He was first elected to the California State Assembly in 2016 and served until his election to Congress in 2022, representing Assembly District 6.[1][2]
Kiley was elected to the U.S. House in 2022 to represent the 3rd District and took office on January 3, 2023.[1][2] He serves on the Judiciary, Education and Workforce, and Transportation and Infrastructure committees and chairs the Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.[1][2] His official biography says he introduced the PRESS Act, which passed the House with bipartisan support, and co-chairs the Inventions Caucus.[1]
On March 9, 2026, Kiley announced he was dropping his Republican affiliation and would serve as an independent, while continuing to caucus with Republicans to keep his committee assignments; the Associated Press reported he chose to run in the 6th District rather than against Rep. Tom McClintock after the state's boundaries were redrawn.[3] Ballotpedia reports that he filed for re-election with no party affiliation on March 6, 2026, and he is on the November 3, 2026 ballot in the 6th District.[2] According to his official biography, he and his wife, Chelsee, reside in Rocklin.[1]
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.
