California Republican Assemblyman James Gallagher will serve the remainder of late Congressman Doug LaMalfa’s House term after cruising to victory in a special election Tuesday.
With a little more than half the expected vote tallied in the far northern California 1st Congressional District, Gallagher had 62.6% support, well above the 50% needed to avoid an August runoff. Democratic State Sen. Mike McGuire led fellow Democrat Audrey Denney by just 37 votes in the race for second place, with both on 17.9% of the vote.
LaMalfa (R-Calif.), who had represented the safe Republican district since 2013, died on Jan. 6 of this year after suffering a heart attack following an aortic dissection. He was 65.
“It’s a mix of emotions,” Gallagher told KRCR-TV after the race was called by the Associated Press. “Missing Congressman Doug LaMalfa, who is a mentor to me, but also just feeling overwhelmed by the amount of support that we’ve had tonight.”
Gallagher, 45, has represented the rural region north of Sacramento in the State Assembly since December 2014.
His victory means the current composition of the House is 218 Republicans, 212 Democrats and one independent — former Republican Kevin Kiley of California — with four vacancies.
Separately, Gallagher and McGuire secured spots in the Nov. 3 general election to represent the redrawn 1st District, which is more friendly to Democrats. With half the estimated votes tallied in that race, Gallagher had 47.2% of the vote compared to McGuire’s 37.5%. Denney, the other main Democratic contender, was in third place with 13.4% of the vote.
The next open seat in the House will be filled June 16, when a special election will be held to replace Rep. Eric Swawell (D-Calif.), who resigned in disgrace April 14 following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, including harassment and rape.
