Republican James Gallagher wins special election for vacant red House district in California

Republican state Rep. James Gallagher, the former state Assembly minority leader, will join Congress as its newest member after he won California’s 1st District special election Tuesday, NBC News projects.

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Gallagher will fill the seat left vacant by the death of Republican Doug LaMalfa, who died this year at age 65 , after he secured a majority of votes, avoiding a runoff.

After he is sworn in, Gallagher will serve in Congress until the end of LaMalfa’s term this year, giving Republicans another vote to pad their slim majority. His election will give Republicans 218 votes in the House to Democrats’ 212, with four vacancies and an independent who caucuses with Republicans.

But he may not be in Congress for long, thanks to how California Democrats carved up the district as part of their redistricting push.

The special election was run under the lines that were in effect during the 2024 election, when LaMalfa won the district by 30 percentage points and Donald Trump won by 25 points.

But Democrats targeted the district as part of their plan to win up to five more seats in California, redrawing the lines to turn the district into one that then-Vice President Kamala Harris won by more than 12 points in 2024.

In the regularly scheduled primary for the seat, Gallagher advanced to the general election alongside Mike McGuire, the former state Senate Democratic leader.