Gavin Newsom sets last possible date for special election to fill LaMalfa’s seat
Gov. Gavin Newsom set an Aug. 4 date for a special election to replace U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who died in office earlier this month — a date that could leave Republicans with a very thin House majority into the summer.
But that August date means a primary election will occur June 2., according to Republicans. If Assemblymember James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, who is running to replace LaMalfa for the remainder of his term, earns more than 50% of the vote, he can be seated just after that primary, according to his spokesperson.
A spokesperson for Newsom’s office directed The Sacramento Bee to the California Secretary of State’s office for clarification on what the proclamation meant for the June primary election. A representative of that office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Paul Mitchell, a prominent consultant who drew new maps for Newsom and California Democrats’ Proposition 50 redistricting effort, echoed the Gallagher camp’s description of the votes ahead in a post on X. “When Gallagher gets 50% (plus one) he wins outright and there is no runoff,” he wrote, referring to the June primary.
Republicans were left with a 218-seat majority following LaMalfa’s death and the resignation of former Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene over disagreements with her party. Newsom’s scheduling decision leaves Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, with only three votes he can lose in looming partisan fights over government funding and myriad other contentious issues.
LaMalfa, who represented the 1st District since 2013, died Jan. 6 during emergency surgery, according to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office.
Newsom set the election for the last date possible under state law. The late date also creates a potentially confusing tableau for the district’s voters. They will also be voting in the primary election for November’s general election for the 1st District seat.
Gallagher sharply criticized the date in a post on X. Newsom should have set the special election for the day of the June 2 primary, with a primary election he could have won in March, he said.
“Instead,” Gallagher wrote, “he chose to play national political games and deny the people of the First District representation in Congress for at least two months longer than what was needed.”
Governors of both parties have sought to delay special elections if they think it will keep the other side from gaining a vote. In October, Arizona’s attorney general sued Johnson over his delay in seating Democrat Rep. Adelita Grijalva after she won a special election in that state.
Proposition 50 complicates the twin elections
But Proposition 50 adds another big wrinkle for voters in the Northern California district. Voters will be weighing in on one version of the district for the special election and another in the primary for the November general election.
State law says current district lines must stay in place when electing a successor after a Congress member vacates office. So the special election will reflect the 1st District’s current conservative-leaning boundaries
When voters passed Proposition 50 last year, however, the boundary of LaMalfa’s district was shifted south to include more liberal-voting urban areas, as Democrats sought to flip five House seats and counter Republican redistricting in Texas.
Soon after Prop. 50 passed, former Senate president pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, said he would run for the newly redrawn 1st District. McGuire has a challenger in the Democrat primary from Audrey Denney. The seat was drawn to take in McGuire’s political base of Santa Rosa and portions of Sonoma County.
Gallagher announced earlier this week he would run to complete his longtime friend and colleague LaMalfa’s term. The former Assembly minority leader opened his campaign touting the support of LaMalfa’s widow, Jill LaMalfa, and her family.
On Friday, Denney announced she would also run in the special election.
This is a breaking story and could be updated.
This story was originally published January 16, 2026 at 4:22 PM.
