The former Republican minority leader of the California state Assembly has left the GOP out of frustration with the direction his party has taken in recent years.

State Assemblyman Chad Mayes on Thursday filed to run for reelection as an independent with no party preference. Mayes said his decision came as he grew increasingly uncomfortable with the spiraling political discourse across the country.

"It's something I've been giving quite a lot of thought to," Mayes told The Sacramento Bee . "Really simply: It's because of my frustration with the way our political system is working today. The political discord in the country is tearing us apart. Unfortunately, all politics is no longer local. It's national."

Mayes previously served a term as leader of the Assembly's Republican conference. He was ousted after voting with Democrats to extend California's cap and trade plan in August 2017.

The next year, Mayes formed New Way California, a group aimed at moderating the California Republican Party that's backed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R).

"If we keep doing things the way they've been done as California Republicans, then we're going to keep seeing voter registration drop, we're going to see seats being lost," Mayes told The Hill when he launched the group. "California Republicans have to differentiate themselves from national Republican, because what might work in Washington, D.C., or what might work in the South or other parts of the country aren't going to work here in California."

But state Republicans are unlikely to field a strong challenger against Mayes this year: He announced his decision on Thursday afternoon, about 24 hours before the filing deadline at close of business Friday.

Mayes is the second Republican assemblyman to quit the GOP this year, after Brian Maienschein left to caucus with Democrats in January. There are now just 18 Republicans in the 80-member Assembly, the smallest Republican caucus since 1877.