Republican James Gallagher took the oath of office Wednesday, filling the seat of the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa in California’s 1st District and giving House leaders some breathing room in what has been a tumultuous year of deaths and resignations in Congress. 

A former state Assembly GOP leader, Gallagher ran with endorsements from President Donald Trump and congressional leadership, easily winning the June 2 special open primary for the remainder of LaMalfa’s term. 

Gallagher gives the House GOP another vote after the April resignation of Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales. Democrats have seen several recent departures of their own, including two scandal-driven resignations and the unexpected death of Georgia Rep. David Scott. 

The addition of Gallagher bumps up the GOP’s hold on the majority to six, including California Rep. Kevin Kiley, who is an independent but caucuses with Republicans.

The solidly-Republican seat had been vacant since LaMalfa’s death in early January. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom scheduled a special election for Aug. 4, the latest possible under state law, with a June special primary. 

But in California, any special primary candidate earning more than 50 percent of the vote is declared the winner outright — and with more than 60 percent of the vote, Gallagher avoided having to face a second contest in August.

Gallagher is also running for the full term beginning in January, having won the regular primary for the seat, held the same day as the special election. Democratic state Sen. Mike McGuire will be his opponent in the general election.

But the California Republican faces longer odds in November: The 1st District was among several in the state that were reshaped last year to favor Democrats, after voters approved a redistricting ballot measure in response to GOP-led redistricting in Texas.

In its current configuration, the district stretches from the outskirts of Sacramento to the Oregon and Nevada borders to the northeast. The new district map will bring in parts of the Pacific Coast and blue-leaning wine country, transforming a seat that Trump carried by 25 points in 2024 into one that Kamala Harris would have taken by 12 points, according to Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales. 

As minority leader at the time, Gallagher led Republican legislators in opposition to the redistricting effort, ultimately falling short in the Democratic-led Assembly. He stepped down as caucus leader in September, according to ABC News affiliate KRCR.

First elected to the California State Assembly in 2014, Gallagher represented an inland district centered on the city of Chico. He was appointed GOP leader in 2022. He also spent six years on the Board of Supervisors for Sutter County, where he lives. 

During his tenure as a state legislator, Gallagher paid particular attention to small businesses and farms and saw dozens of his bills enacted, including a measure to facilitate housing relief for victims of the Camp Fire, according to the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. The 2018 fire, which happened in his district, burned the city of Paradise and a large swath of Butte County in the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in state history. 

Gallagher’s congressional priorities include a broadly conservative platform of reduced taxes and government spending, expanded energy production and supporting Trump’s immigration policies. He has also been outspoken on his concerns of fraud in government programs.

“When money is fraudulently taken out of the system, that’s money they can’t get to the people who need it,” he told The National News Desk, an affiliate of Sinclair.

Born in Yuba City, Gallagher earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He got his law degree from U.C. Davis before he signed on to a practice centered on business and agriculture. Gallagher is also a partner in his family’s rice farm. 

Andrew Menezes and Daniela Altimari contributed to this report.