James Gallagher

Rep. James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) introduces the Representation Act to the public Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026 at DeGarmo Park in Chico, California. (Michael Weber/Enterprise-Record) By Michael Weber | [email protected] PUBLISHED: August 20, 2026 at 4:17 PM PDT | UPDATED: August 21, 2026 at 2:02 PM PDT Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... CHICO — After Proposition 50 enabled five of California’s congressional districts to be redrawn by the Legislature in favor of Democrats for three election cycles starting this fall, newly proposed federal legislation aims to control future attempts at political gerrymandering nationwide. Rep. James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, joined by Paradise Mayor Steve Crowder, kickstarted a campaign Thursday at DeGarmo Park, unveiling the Representation Act, a bill aimed at legitimizing “communities of interest” and protecting them from being divided during congressional redistricting. Gallagher, who is running for one of those redrawn seats, the 1st District, has been a vocal critic of the gerrymandering spearheaded by California Democrats — aimed to offset earlier Republican moves to redraw lines in Texas to keep the House of Representatives in GOP hands come November. On Thursday, Gallagher, who is running against state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, said states should attempt to keep communities of interest whole, against political pressures, and that “no one knows this better than us in the north state.” “The north state has always been connected; the many small towns and communities; we are connected by that rural lifestyle … we’ve always been kept together until now,” Gallagher said, referring to Prop. 50. “A purely political gerrymander (split) that great north state, that community of interest, into three separate districts.” Gallagher, who won a special election in June to fill the remainder of the late Doug LaMalfa’s term, is running against McGuire in a redrawn district which stretches north from Santa Rosa into Mendocino County and east across Lake County and the Sacramento Valley, to the Nevada border. The purple section above shows the current 1st Congressional District in Northern California, now held by Republican Rep. James Gallagher, who in June won a special election to fill the remainder of late Rep. Doug LaMalfa's term. The gold dotted lines show the redrawn 1st District, where Gallagher is running against Democrat Mike McGuire of Healdsburg. The redrawn district includes all of Democratic-leaning Santa Rosa. The redrawn district is 41% Democrat, 31% Republican and 27% 'no party preference.' (Map courtesy CalMatters) He has sought to paint McGuire, a former state Senate president and ardent critic of President Donald Trump , as a key enabler of Prop. 50. McGuire was “wrong to go along with this, to rip up communities for his own political advantage,” Gallagher said Thursday. “I think it’s horrendous and should be called out, rightfully so.” McGuire, in a written statement Thursday, said, “Since James Gallagher got to Congress, he has done nothing but rubber stamp Donald Trump’s destructive agenda of higher costs and more corruption. Residents of the North State deserve better than Trump and Gallagher’s illegal wars and trillions in cuts to healthcare and Medicare – which will strip millions from their coverage and close rural hospitals.” U.S. Rep. James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, left, and California State Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg. Gallagher has taken aim at McGuire’s voting history, including his support for California’s high speed rail, alleging he prioritized funding for that embattled project over wildfire prevention efforts. “Those are the wrong priorities, especially for this community who you’re proposing to represent, and who you don’t really show up in. “Even though they redrew this district, I’m showing up at the new part of the district, too,” he said. How the bill works As currently written, the bill proposes that states identify and document communities of interes