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Senate President pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-Santa Rosa, asks for a yes vote on one of the redistricting bills on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025 in Sacramento. McGuire on Friday said he will run in the special election to succeed Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who died Jan. 6.<\/p>\n
HECTOR AMEZCUA<\/p>\n
hamezcua@sacbee.com<\/p>\n
SAN FRANCISCO<\/p>\n
California state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, said Friday night that he will run in the special election<\/a> to succeed U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who died unexpectedly last month.<\/p>\n \u201cFor too long, MAGA leaders have meant prices rising, hospitals closing, and communities hurting,\u201d McGuire said on X Friday evening. \u201cWe\u2019re going to change that \u2014 and flip this seat once and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n The immediate past Senate president pro tem will face Assemblymember James Gallagher, R-Yuba City<\/a>, who is backed by the LaMalfa family, and Democratic agricultural consultant Audrey Denney<\/a> in the June 2 contest to represent the 1st Congressional District.<\/p>\n If needed, a runoff election will take place Aug. 4.<\/p>\n McGuire told reporters at the California Democratic Party convention in San Francisco that he decided to run for the special election as well because \u201cour country was hanging on by a thread.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we need right now are rural representatives that are focused on the issues that working families care about. They care about having a good, rural job,\u201d he said. \u201cThey care about sending their kids to good public schools. They want us to keep their hospitals open, to keep their health care intact, and they want a more affordable life.\u201d<\/p>\n LaMalfa, a Republican, died Jan. 6 during emergency surgery. For over a decade, he had represented the ruby-red district that encompassed most of the north state reaching up to the Oregon border.<\/p>\n That district will shift starting with the November midterm elections after voters passed Proposition 50 last year. The ballot initiative championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom redrew all 52 state congressional districts to make them easier for Democrats to win<\/a> and take back control of the House.<\/p>\n McGuire previously declared his intention to run for the 1st Congressional District in that race during the midterm election, which will take place Nov. 3.<\/p>\n Denney and Gallagher, McGuire\u2019s opponents, both criticized the senator for electing to run in the special election, with the former calling him a \u201ccarpetbagger.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSenator McGuire\u2019s decision to run in a district he doesn\u2019t live in smacks of political opportunism, exploiting our rural communities for personal political gain,\u201d said Alex Brown, Denney\u2019s campaign manager. \u201cOur communities deserve someone who sees this district as home, not as a headline.\u201d<\/p>\n Gallagher said McGuire \u201crigged\u201d the race after helping to pass Prop. 50.<\/p>\n \u201cWelcome to the race for the real CD 1,\u201d he said online. \u201cI welcome the debate.\u201d<\/p>\n LaMalfa, who was a staunch opponent of redistricting, said that under Prop. 50 his district would no longer represent rural interests as more liberal voters<\/a> from the Bay Area with different priorities would be included.<\/p>\n Under state law, a successor must run to represent the original district boundaries when a congressional representative vacates office. That means whoever wins Aug. 4, likely a Republican, will probably serve only a few months before the district shifts to reflect a more liberal constituency.<\/p>\n This story was originally published February 21, 2026 at 9:12 AM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n
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