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Northern California Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin), whose congressional district was carved up in the redistricting ballot measures approved by voters last year, announced Monday that he would not challenge fellow Republican Rep. Tom McClintock of Elk Grove. Instead, he plans to run in the Democratic-leaning district where he resides.

“It’s true that I was fully prepared to run in [McClintock’s district], having tested the waters and with polls showing a favorable outlook in a ‘safe’ district. But doing what’s easy and what’s right are often not the same,” Kiley posted on the social media site X. “And at the end of the day, as much as I love the communities in [that] District that I represent now – and as excited as I was about the new ones – seeking office in a district that doesn’t include my hometown didn’t feel right.”

Kiley, 41, currently represents a congressional district that spans Lake Tahoe to Sacramento. He did not respond to requests for comment.

But after California voters in November passed Proposition 50 — a ballot measure to redraw the state’s congressional districts in an effort to counter Trump’s moves to increase the numbers of Republicans in Congress — Kiley’s district was sliced up into other districts.

As the filing deadline approaches, Kiley pondered his path forward in a decision that was compared by political insiders to the reality television show “The Bachelor.” Who would receive the final rose? McClintock’s new sprawling congressional district includes swaths of gold country, the Central Valley and Death Valley. The district Kiley opted to run in includes the city of Sacramento and the suburbs of Roseville and Rocklin in Placer County.

Kiley was facing headwinds because of the Republican institutional support that lined up behind McClintock, 69, who has been in Congress since 2009 and served in the state Legislature for 26 years previously. President Trump, the California Republican Party and the Club for Growth’s political action committee are among the people and groups who have endorsed McClintock.

Conservative strategist Jon Fleischman, a former executive director of the state GOP, said he was thrilled by Kiley’s decision, which avoids a divisive intraparty battle.

“If you open up the dictionary and look for the word conservative, it’s a photo of Tom McClintock. He is the ideological leader of conservatives, not only in California but in Congress for many, many years,” Fleischman said, adding that the endorsements for McClintock purposefully came because Kiley was considering challenging him.

Kiley, who grew up near Sacramento, attended Harvard University and Yale Law School. A former Teach for America member, he served in the state Assembly for six years before being elected to Congress in 2022 with Trump’s backing. But he has bucked the president, notably on tariffs. He also unsuccessfully ran to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom during the 2021 recall, and has been a constant critic of the governor.

Kiley is now running in a Sacramento-area district represented by Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove). Democrats in the newly drawn district had a nearly 9-point voter registration edge in 2024. Bera is now running in the new version of Kiley’s district.

In Kiley’s new race, his top rival is Dr. Richard Pan of Sacramento, a former state senator and staunch supporter of vaccinations.

“Kevin Kiley can try to rebrand himself, but voters know his extreme record,” Pan said in a statement. “He has stood 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 about who will actually fight for healthcare, public health, and working families. I’ve done that my entire career. Kevin Kiley has not.”

Feb. 27 (Asia Today) — Kim Jong Un declared that North Korea would “permanently exclude” South Korea from the category of fellow countrymen and said there was “absolutely nothing to discuss” with what he called the “most hostile entity.”

In a report delivered at the ruling party congress held on Feb. 20-21, Kim warned that if Seoul “damages our security environment,” Pyongyang could take unspecified actions, including threats implying the “complete collapse” of South Korea through nuclear force. The remarks reaffirmed North Korea’s “two hostile states” doctrine and amounted to one of its most belligerent statements toward the South in recent years.

Kim’s speech appeared to directly rebuff the conciliatory approach pursued by President Lee Jae-myung. Upon taking office, Lee outlined three principles for inter-Korean relations: respect for the North Korean regime, no pursuit of absorption-style unification and the exclusion of hostile acts. At the U.N. General Assembly in New York last September, he proposed the “END Initiative,” aimed at encouraging denuclearization through exchanges and normalization of relations.

Seoul has since halted loudspeaker broadcasts along the Military Demarcation Line, suspended National Intelligence Service broadcasts toward the North, made the Rodong Sinmun more publicly accessible and expressed regret over civilian drone incursions. The administration has also sought to restore the Sept. 19 inter-Korean military agreement, a move that has drawn criticism from some within the military and from U.S. officials.

According to reports, Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, conveyed concerns to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that restoring the no-fly zone near the border could “constrain the ROK military’s readiness posture.”

Despite these gestures, Kim dismissed Seoul’s stance as a “clumsy deception and a poor performance.” While rejecting dialogue with the South, he left open the possibility of improved ties with Washington, saying there would be “no reason we cannot get along well” if the United States abandons what Pyongyang calls a hostile policy.

The contrast underscores a long-standing North Korean strategy often described as engaging Washington while sidelining Seoul. The editorial argues that Seoul’s current peace roadmap has effectively stalled, with little progress in efforts to leverage improved ties with Beijing to moderate Pyongyang’s stance.

While peaceful coexistence remains a stated goal, Kim’s latest remarks raise renewed questions about whether continued unilateral conciliatory measures can alter North Korea’s strategic calculus.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260226010008101