# United States Representative, District 1 Compare records and positions simply between James Gallagher or Mike McGuire for United States Representative, District 1 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (2-year term). - Jurisdiction: Federal - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/us-rep-1 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: September 24, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 95 out of 100 (Very strong), across 11 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **James Gallagher** — United States Representative/Farmer · Republican - **Mike McGuire** — California State Senator · Democratic The closest congressional contest on this ballot: Republican James Gallagher took 42.1% of the June 2 vote and Democrat Mike McGuire took 41.8%, a gap of 0.3 points. Gallagher already holds the seat — he won a special election in June to complete Doug LaMalfa's term — but he won it in the old district. Under Prop 50 the lines were redrawn, and per redistricting documents the new district is roughly 41% Democratic to 31% Republican. The district covers the far north of the state. The winner holds one of 435 seats in the U.S. House for a two-year term. A member introduces bills, sits on committees that shape federal legislation, votes on the federal budget and on war powers, and handles casework between constituents and federal agencies. Unlike a state legislator, they have no role in California's budget — the trade is national reach for local control. This is a rematch on changed ground. Gallagher won the special election in the district as it was; the November contest is in the district as Prop 50 redrew it, with a registration balance that runs the other way. Both candidates come from legislative leadership rather than the back benches, so this is a contest between two people who have run chambers. Weigh their state records against the fact that neither has a substantial federal one. ## James Gallagher James Gallagher, a lawyer and partner in his family's rice and walnut farming operation in Sutter County, served six years on the Sutter County Board of Supervisors before twelve years in the California Assembly, where Republicans elected him Minority Leader from 2022 to 2025 (campaign site). He now sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee (official site). In June 2026, following the death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa, Gallagher won a special election to complete LaMalfa's term. Gallagher says he decided to run "after much prayer and reflection with my own family... to serve out the remaining months of Doug's term" (campaign site). In September 2026 the House passed, 214-208, his Congressional Review Act resolution overturning an EPA action that let California enforce its own emissions requirements on commercial harbor craft (official site). His campaign promises lower taxes, fees and regulations; stronger public safety; more domestic energy production; border security; and protection for parental and property rights. He also promises to shield farms and small businesses from what his site calls regulatory overreach (campaign site). **Strengths:** Twelve years in the Assembly, three of them as the Republican leader, current seats on the Foreign Affairs and Transportation committees, and he already holds this seat. **Trade-offs:** He won this seat in June under the old district lines, not the ones redrawn by Prop 50, so November is his first test with these particular voters. **Keep in mind:** The harbor craft emissions vote and his water and farm policy work show where he has actually taken sides in Congress, beyond winning a special election. ## Mike McGuire Mike McGuire comes from a Sonoma County farming family that has grown grapes and prunes for three generations. He began in local government on the Healdsburg school board at nineteen. He then served on the Healdsburg City Council, as its mayor, and on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, before his 2014 election to the state Senate (official biography). He later became the Senate's President pro Tempore (official biography). As a senator, McGuire authored SB 1263, which would protect wildfire survivors from contractor fraud during rebuilding. It advanced out of committee on a 16-0 vote in June 2026 (official Senate press release). He has also spent roughly a decade securing funding for Highway 37 and the Last Chance Grade project on Highway 101, both vital North Coast corridors (official Senate press release). McGuire's congressional campaign website was not yet publishing a platform as of this review, so his own words about running for Congress were not available. His Senate record has centered on wildfire recovery, water infrastructure and transportation funding for the North Coast. **Strengths:** A decade of Senate leadership ending as President pro Tempore, with a documented record of wildfire-recovery and infrastructure legislation for the North Coast. **Trade-offs:** No record in federal office, and his congressional campaign had not published a platform explaining his Washington priorities as of this review. **Keep in mind:** He lost the June special election for this seat under the old district lines before qualifying for a different one in November. Weigh both results as you judge him here. ## Record in office James Gallagher (Republican) has served in the U.S. House since 2026 and has sponsored 7 bills in the 119th Congress; none of their bills have become law so far. Mike McGuire (Democratic) is a sitting State Senator and is lead author of 14 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 3 of them signed into law. Per the California Legislature's public bill data (leginfo bulk download) and Congress.gov and the public-domain congress-legislators roster, retrieved 2026-09-21. ## Record details Gallagher — Committees: Foreign Affairs; Science, Space, and Technology; Transportation and Infrastructure McGuire — SB 669 (2025): Rural hospitals: standby perinatal services. McGuire — SB 727 (2025): The Great Redwood Trail Agency. McGuire — SB 627 (2025): Law enforcement: masks. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record. ## Financial info - **James Gallagher** — $1,488,906 raised (Individuals: $959,754; PACs & committees: $275,863; Party: $7,000) - **Mike McGuire** — $1,827,711 raised (Individuals: $1,527,505; PACs & committees: $300,070) Total raised is all receipts for the 2026 cycle; the breakdown lists direct contributions, so the pieces can sum below the total. Figures are FEC filings through June 30, 2026, per the FEC bulk campaign-finance summaries, retrieved 2026-09-21. ## Review notes - James Gallagher for Congress may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources. ## Sources 1. [CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)](https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/prior-elections/statewide-election-results/primary-election-june-2-2026/statement-vote) 2. [Ballotpedia — June 2026 California primary](https://ballotpedia.org) 3. [James Gallagher for Congress — campaign site (biography, why running, priorities)](https://electjamesgallagher.com/) 4. [Rep. James Gallagher, official site — Committees and Caucuses](https://gallagher.house.gov/about/committees-and-caucuses) 5. [Rep. James Gallagher, official site — Press Releases (September 2026 harbor-craft emissions CRA vote)](https://gallagher.house.gov/media/press-releases) 6. [California State Senate, District 2 — Senator Mike McGuire, official biography](https://sd02.senate.ca.gov/biography) 7. [California State Senate, District 2 — Senator Mike McGuire, Press Releases (SB 1263; Highway 37/Last Chance Grade funding)](https://sd02.senate.ca.gov/press-releases) 8. [congress-legislators — current members of Congress (unitedstates project)](https://unitedstates.github.io/congress-legislators/legislators-current.json) 9. [Congress.gov — member sponsored legislation (Library of Congress)](https://api.congress.gov/) 10. [California Legislative Information — public bill data (bulk download)](https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/) 11. [FEC — 2026 House & Senate current-campaign financial summaries (bulk data)](https://www.fec.gov/files/bulk-downloads/2026/webl26.zip) ## The rest of the ballot United States Representative, District 1 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "United States Representative, District 1 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/us-rep-1 (sources last retrieved September 24, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.