Jump to content

2026 California's 1st congressional district special election

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2026 California's 1st congressional district special election
← 2024
June 2, 2026
Nov 2026 →
California's 1st congressional district
 
Candidate James Gallagher Audrey Denney Mike McGuire
Party Republican Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 123,551 36,841 34,319
Percentage 62.10% 18.52% 17.25%
County results
Gallagher:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
U.S. Representative before election

Doug LaMalfa
Republican

 Elected U.S. Representative

James Gallagher
Republican

The 2026 California's 1st congressional district special election for California's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives was held on June 2, 2026, to fill the vacancy created by the death of incumbent Republican U.S. representative Doug LaMalfa.[1][2][3] A runoff between the top two candidates would have been held on August 4 if no candidate received a majority of the vote.[4]

Although the election occurred after the passage of Proposition 50 in 2025, the proposition did not impact this election because the proposed map goes into effect for the term that begins on January 3, 2027, as the special election was for the term that expires on that date.[5]

Republican state assemblyman James Gallagher won the election in this heavily red district by securing 62.10% of the total votes and defeating Democratic candidates Audrey Denney and Mike McGuire by a massive margin.[6] The special election also coincided with the primary election for the new district boundaries, in which Gallagher and McGuire both advanced, setting up a rematch in the November general election.[7]

Background

[edit]

Redistricting and scheduling

[edit]

In 2025, California voters passed Proposition 50, an amendment to California's constitution that supplanted the map created by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC) with a map that favors Democratic candidates. As a result, District 1 was redrawn to be more Democratic-leaning, removing the Republican-leaning rural counties of Modoc and Siskiyou along with the Redding and Yuba–Sutter metropolitan areas, while adding the Democratic-leaning city of Santa Rosa.[8] In the 2024 presidential election, the newly redrawn 1st district would have voted for Kamala Harris by a margin of 54.5 to 42.3.[9] Doug LaMalfa intended to seek reelection to the 1st district despite the new map before his death.[10][11]

The congressional map drawn by Proposition 50 became official following the state's primary on June 2.[12] As the primary for the special election was also held on June 2, the general special election used the current map drawn by the CCRC.[5][12] A run-off for the general special election would have occurred on August 4 if no candidate received a majority of votes in the primary. Although most special elections use old district lines before a redistricting cycle, some previous elections have used newly drawn maps, including a special election for Nebraska's 1st district in 2022.[13]

Republican control of the House

[edit]

LaMalfa died one day after the resignation of Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, bringing the total Republicans in the House of Representatives to a bare majority of 218 to 213 Democrats with four vacancies at the time.[13][14] News organizations, including The Wall Street Journal and Politico, noted that this narrow margin provided additional strain on the Republican majority and Speaker Mike Johnson, as the Republicans could only lose two votes, placing increased prominence on the special election.[15][16]

Candidates

[edit]

Declared

[edit]

Withdrawn

[edit]
  • Kyle Wilson (Democratic), labor attorney[20]

Endorsements

[edit]
Audrey Denney (D)
Organizations
James Gallagher (R)
Executive branch officials
U.S. representatives
Individuals
Mike McGuire (D)
Newspapers

Results

[edit]
2026 California's 1st congressional district special election[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican James Gallagher 123,551 62.10
Democratic Audrey Denney 36,841 18.52
Democratic Mike McGuire 34,319 17.25
Republican Jot Thiara 2,423 1.22
No party preference Richard Montgomery 1,808 0.91
Total votes 198,942 100.00
Republican hold

By county

[edit]
County[25] James Gallagher
Republican		 Audrey Denney
Democratic		 Mike McGuire
Democratic		 Other candidates
Various parties		 Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # %
Butte 32,09052.84%15,46125.46%12,64820.83%5260.87%16,62927.38%60,725
Colusa 2,86167.97%54612.97%70216.68%1002.38%2,15951.29%4,209
Glenn 4,51470.80%80912.69%90414.18%1492.34%3,61056.62%6,376
Lassen 5,26973.34%80611.22%74810.41%3615.03%4,46362.12%7,184
Modoc 1,99075.12%34312.95%27410.34%421.59%1,64762.17%2,649
Shasta 35,43466.61%8,57716.12%8,17715.37%1,0121.90%26,85750.48%53,200
Siskiyou 7,91758.37%3,70027.28%1,66812.30%2782.05%4,21731.09%13,563
Sutter 14,66165.01%2,84312.61%4,16818.48%8813.91%10,49346.53%22,553
Tehama 11,51470.88%1,98412.21%2,27714.02%4692.89%9,23756.86%16,244
Yuba (part) 7,30159.65%1,77214.48%2,75322.49%4133.37%4,54837.16%12,239
Totals123,55162.10%36,84118.52%34,31917.25%4,2312.13%86,71043.59%198,942

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Ferris, Sarah. "California GOP Congressman Doug LaMalfa dies at 65". CNN. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  2. ↑ Gedeon, Joseph. "Doug LaMalfa, California Republican congressman, dies aged 65". The Guardian. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  3. ↑ Feinberg, Andrew. "California GOP Congressman Doug LaMalfa dies unexpectedly at age 65". The Independent. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  4. 1 2 Chiochios, Nathan (January 16, 2026). "Gavin Newsom announces special election to fill Doug LaMalfa's seat". The Press Democrat. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  5. 1 2 Graham, Andrew (January 6, 2026). "Gavin Newsom sets last possible date for special election to fill LaMalfa's seat". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  6. ↑ Kamisar, Ben (June 2, 2026). "Republican James Gallagher wins special election for vacant red House district in California". NBC News. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
  7. ↑ Murphy, Austin (June 2, 2026). "Gallagher leads in two 1st District races for Congress, with McGuire staking claim to runoff". The Press Democrat. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
  8. ↑ Battaglia, Roman; Grossi, Sarina (October 29, 2025). "From cattle country to wine country: How Prop 50 could reshape California's 1st District". Jefferson Public Radio. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  9. ↑ "CA 2026 Congressional". Daves Redistricting. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  10. ↑ Arthur, Damon (August 20, 2025). "Who's running for Congress in the district LaMalfa represents, so far". Record Searchlight. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  11. ↑ Hamann, Emily. "California District Map Shakeup Puts GOP Seats in Jeopardy". State Affairs. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  12. 1 2 Holden, Lindsey (January 6, 2026). "A shocking death and a special election". Politico. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  13. 1 2 Nir, David; Singer, Jeff. "Morning Digest: Here's how Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa's seat will be filled". The Downballot. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  14. ↑ Karni, Annie (January 6, 2026). "LaMalfa's Death Further Depletes House G.O.P. Majority". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  15. ↑ Hill, Meredith Lee (January 6, 2026). "The House GOP confronts a shocking loss and a difficult road ahead". Politico. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  16. ↑ Beavers, Olivia (January 6, 2026). "GOP Lawmaker's Death Pressures Republican Majority". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  17. 1 2 Mejia, Alejandro Mejia (January 14, 2026). "Assemblyman James Gallagher announces bid for District 1 seat". Action News Now. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  18. ↑ Russell, Lia (February 21, 2026). "Mike McGuire announces run in 1st Congressional District special election". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  19. 1 2 "Certified List of Candidates for Congressional District 1" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Wilson Withdraws". Facebook. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  21. ↑ "EMILYs List Endorses Audrey Denney for California’s 1st Congressional District", November 6, 2025.
  22. ↑ Nir, David; Singer, Jeff (February 6, 2026). "Morning Digest: Republicans have their first shot at a special election flip on Saturday". Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Graham, Andrew; Russell, Lia (January 14, 2026). "This assemblymember announces run to finish LaMalfa's term in Congress". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
  24. ↑ "The Bee endorses a native of California's new 1st Congressional District | Opinion". The Sacramento Bee. April 16, 2026. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
  25. 1 2 Weber, Shirley (June 11, 2026). "Official Canvass United States Representative 1st District* Special Primary Election, June 2, 2026" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved June 12, 2026.
[edit]
Official campaign sites
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2026_California%27s_1st_congressional_district_special_election&oldid=1376064534"