Age: 36
Party: Republican
Home: Rocklin
State Assemblymember since 2017. Previously worked as an attorney and high school English teacher. Co-owns a farm with former U.S. Rep. Doug Ose, who is also running in the recall.
Likes:
Consumer privacy laws, the Second Amendment, small government
Dislikes:
Special interest money, social media censorship, “one-man rule”
If he becomes governor:
- Would address homelessness through more shelters and treatment, and conduct an audit of all state funding and programs
- Would redirect funding from projects such as high-speed rail to highways, bridges, dams, reservoirs, levees, power plants
- Would end the state of emergency for the pandemic on his first day in office and opposes mask mandates for students and teachers
- Would support school vouchers to allow funding to follow the student, and break up the Los Angeles Unified School District into smaller districts
- Would oppose “critical race theory” being taught in schools
- Would undo “sanctuary state” designation that limits federal immigration officials from working with local law enforcement
- Would reverse expansion of Medi-Cal benefits to undocumented people
- Would refuse to support any candidate who accepts contributions from lobbyists
- Would use executive orders to roll back agency regulations that businesses find restrictive such as those on gig workers
Personal quote:
“As your Governor, I’ll take action to turn California around just as rapidly as I spoke in that debate. No time to waste.”
Hear him on the issues:
Kiley explains why he won’t criticize Republicans and blames Gov. Gavin Newsom for COVID deaths.
Supporters:
- Orrin Heatlie, a leader of the Newsom recall effort
- Doug Ose, former member of Congress and recall candidate
- Joel Anderson, former state senator and current county supervisor in San Diego
- RedState, a conservative news site
More about him:
- The young Republican lawyer taking on California’s governor
- Four things to know about the Newsom recall debate
Contact him:
@KevinKileyCA
kileyforcalifornia.com
Note: Candidates for this series are those who have reached 5% in at least one major statewide poll.
Recall Candidates
- Meet John Cox The Republican businessman from Rancho Santa Fe lost in 2018 for governor, but is running again in the California recall election.
- Meet Larry Elder The conservative talk radio host, columnist and author got into the California recall race late, but has zoomed to the top of the polls.
- Meet Kevin Faulconer The former mayor of San Diego is a moderate Republican with the backing of many party officials in the California recall election.
- Meet Caitlyn Jenner The TV personality and former Olympic gold medalist received a lot of buzz early on in the Newsom recall, but interviews didn't go well.
- Meet Kevin Kiley The Republican Assemblymember from Rocklin is backed in the Newsom recall by one of the initial organizers of the petition drive.
- Next: Meet Kevin Paffrath Kevin Paffrath, a real estate agent with 1.6 million followers on his finance-focused YouTube channel, is the only Democrat polling high as a replacement for Newsom.