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Rep. Kiley to Newsmax: Newsom Posing 'Unique Threat to Democracy'

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Tuesday, 12 August 2025 09:33 AM EDT

California Gov. Gavin Newsom's threat to redraw California's congressional maps is designed to cement one-party control for Democrats while crushing political dissent, Rep. Kevin Kiley told Newsmax on Tuesday.

And that, the California Republican told Newsmax's "Wake Up America," means Newsom is creating a "unique threat to democracy."

"He is trying to overturn the will of voters who put in place an independent commission," by drawing a "hyper-partisan map that will reduce Republicans from nine out of 52 seats to about 5%, even though we get over 40% of the vote in statewide elections," said Kiley. "We need to stop Newsom's scheme in its tracks."

Newsom is escalating the redistricting battle by planning to place a ballot measure before voters this November to redraw California's congressional map.

That proposal would likely create five additional Democrat seats — a countermeasure to redistricting efforts by Texas Republicans and President Donald Trump.

The California Republican also said that he is not surprised that Newsom is once again putting his congressional seat in the crosshairs through the redistricting push.

"He's certainly going to try, but I'm not super concerned about my own seat," Kiley said. "Newsom has targeted me again and again. Last year, he actually sent his own staff member to run against me, and I won by 46,000 votes."

He added that "the reason he's targeting me is very clear."

"I've been leading the opposition to his absolutely insane policies, and we've actually been very successful in reversing a number of them," he said.

Kiley pointed to legislative wins that have rolled back parts of Newsom's agenda, including a measure to overturn the state's ban on gas-powered vehicles, which was signed into law by Trump, as well as cutting funds for high-speed rail, reversing crime policies, and fighting California's sanctuary state law.

He said he has also opposed Newsom's gender policies in sports.

Newsom's move signals a high-stakes redistricting standoff between California and Texas, two of the nation's most populous states.

"This is merely an attempt to eliminate political opposition," Kiley said. "But his past attempts to target me have failed, and I'm confident that this one is going to fail as well."

Kiley has introduced a bill in Congress to limit redistricting to once every decade, aimed at stopping Newsom's efforts.

The plan, he added, is "all about eliminating what's left of the Republican Party in California. It's political hardball, plain and simple."

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