Republican James Gallagher is headed to Congress after a decisive special election win in California’s 1st Congressional District.
Unofficial California results posted Wednesday morning showed Gallagher with 65,915 votes and 62.6 percent of the special election vote.
That put him well above the majority threshold needed to avoid an August runoff.
Gallagher celebrated with a simple message to his district:
This is a major win for Republicans in a state where Democrats have spent months trying to squeeze every possible advantage out of the map.
The special election was held to fill the seat left open by the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a reliable conservative voice from Northern California.
The official results page from the California Secretary of State listed the special election count this way:
California Special Election Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
Unofficial Election Results. U.S. House of Representatives District 1 – Districtwide Results.
Results will be certified by June 11, 2026.
(502 of 502) precincts partially reporting as of June 3, 2026, 4:07 a.m.
Precincts are listed as “partially” reporting since vote-by-mail, provisional, and other ballots will continue to be processed and counted after Election Night.
Election results will change throughout the ballot counting canvass period as vote-by-mail ballots, provisional ballots (including conditional voter registration provisional ballots), and other ballots are tallied.
Candidate Votes Percent.
Audrey Denney (Party Preference: DEM) 18,578 17.6%.
Mike McGuire (Party Preference: DEM) 18,575 17.6%.
James Gallagher (Party Preference: REP) 65,915 62.6%.
Jot Thiara (Party Preference: REP) 1,281 1.2%.
Richard Montgomery (Party Preference: NPP) 933 0.9%.
County Results Districtwide Butte Colusa Glenn Lassen Modoc Shasta Siskiyou Sutter Tehama Yuba.
California’s rules made the number especially important.
If no candidate breaks a majority, the race moves to a runoff. Gallagher cleared that line by a wide margin.
The California Secretary of State explains the canvass process and the majority rule for this special election:
Election results will be updated throughout the canvass period as vote-by-mail ballots, provisional ballots, and other ballots are processed.
Depending on the volume of these types of ballots, it may take several days for the county elections official to verify voter records and determine if ballots have been cast by eligible voters.
County elections officials must report their final results to the Secretary of State by June 11, 2026. The Secretary of State will certify the results shortly thereafter.
County elections officials must post updated information regarding the election on their website at least two times between June 4, 2026, and June 11, 2026.
California conducts open primaries for legislative, congressional, and constitutional offices.
In an open primary, all candidates for a particular office are listed on the same ballot and anyone can vote for any candidate, regardless of party preference.
If no candidate receives a majority of the votes in a special primary election, the two candidates who receive the most votes will move on to a run-off election.
If any candidate receives a majority (over 50%) of the votes in the June 2, 2026, Congressional District 1, Special Primary Election, they will be declared elected, and no special general election will be held.
House Speaker Mike Johnson immediately treated Gallagher as congressman-elect, congratulating him on the win:
That tells you why this matters outside Northern California.
Republicans are adding a seat back to their side of the House after months of operating with a razor-thin margin.
Gallagher also advanced toward the regular November race under the redrawn district lines, where the map is expected to be tougher for Republicans.
On the regular primary side, the California Secretary of State results showed Gallagher in first place too:
California Primary Election Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
Unofficial Election Results. U.S. House of Representatives District 1 – Districtwide Results.
Results will be certified by July 10, 2026.
The districtwide page showed precincts partially reporting as of June 3, 2026, 4:44 a.m.
Visit the County Reporting Status page to determine when a county has submitted its latest report.
Vote-by-mail, provisional, and other ballots will continue to be processed and counted after Election Night.
Election results will change throughout the 30-day canvass period as vote-by-mail ballots, provisional ballots (including conditional voter registration provisional ballots), and other ballots are tallied.
Candidate Votes Percent.
Audrey Denney (Party Preference: DEM) 14,057 13.4%.
Janice Karrman (Party Preference: DEM) 877 0.8%.
Mike McGuire (Party Preference: DEM) 39,416 37.5%.
James Gallagher (Party Preference: REP) 49,625 47.2%.
Timothy Sean Kelly (Party Preference: NPP) 753 0.7%.
Richard T. Minner (Party Preference: NPP) 365 0.3%.
So Democrats did not get the clean anti-GOP signal they wanted out of this district.
They still have a November fight under friendlier lines, but Republicans got the immediate congressional seat and the top spot in the regular primary.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise framed it as a national Republican reinforcement:
For Gallagher, the win also carries a personal note.
He was running for the seat held by LaMalfa, whom he had publicly mourned earlier this year as a mentor and close friend.
Now Gallagher will head to Washington with the backing of House GOP leadership and a decisive special-election mandate from the old 1st District.
In California politics, a Republican win big enough to end the race outright is worth noticing.
In a narrowly divided House, it matters even more.
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