James Gallagher’s record includes East Nicolaus High School, a family rice and walnut operation, the Sutter County Board of Supervisors and the State Assembly. He entered politics as a fellow for Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, won his first election in 2008 and has held elected office in California continuously since then. A lawyer and partner in a fifth-generation farming operation, Gallagher combined those professions with a Republican political career that took him from county government to leadership in Sacramento. He served as Assembly minority leader from 2022 to 2025. Since 2026, he has represented California’s 1st congressional district in the U.S. House.
ROOTS
Gallagher was born March 7, 1981, into a family with a long record in northern California. He is descended from Irish immigrants who settled in the region in the early 1800s. His paternal grandfather, Robert Gallagher, served on the Sutter County Board of Supervisors from 1985 to 1989, an office Gallagher would later hold himself.
After East Nicolaus High School, Gallagher earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from UC Berkeley and a law degree from UC Davis. He has practiced law since 2007. He is also a partner in his family’s rice and walnut farming operation.
Gallagher met his wife, Janna, when they were in kindergarten at Browns School in Rio Oso. They have five children. His education took him from East Nicolaus High School to UC Berkeley and UC Davis, while his career has included the family farm and county board service.
THE PATH TO OFFICE
Gallagher began in state politics through the Fellowship Program, working for Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa. His elected career began with the Sutter County Board of Supervisors. Voters elected him to the board in 2008, and he served there until his election to the Legislature.
On November 4, 2014, Gallagher won a seat in the California State Assembly. He succeeded Republican Dan Logue, who had run unsuccessfully for Congress that year. Gallagher moved into caucus leadership in 2017 as Republican Caucus chairman. From 2022 through 2025, he served as Assembly minority leader, placing him at the head of the chamber’s Republican membership.
The progression was steady: legislative fellowship, county supervisor, Assembly member, caucus chairman and minority leader. Gallagher is a Republican, and his Assembly leadership included chairing the Republican Caucus.
THE MOVE TO CONGRESS
In 2026, Gallagher ran for the open seat in California’s 1st congressional district after LaMalfa’s death. President Donald Trump and eight Republican members of California’s congressional delegation endorsed him. Gallagher defeated Democrats Audrey Denney and Mike McGuire in the special election and was sworn into the House on June 10, 2026. Gallagher and McGuire also advanced to a November rematch in the election for the new district boundaries.
His House assignments divide between foreign affairs and transportation. Gallagher serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee and its subcommittees covering South and Central Asia and the Western Hemisphere. He also serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, with subcommittee assignments covering aviation; highways and transit; and railroads, pipelines and hazardous materials.
Within the House’s political organization, Gallagher belongs to the Congressional Western Caucus and the Republican Study Committee.
THE THROUGH LINE
The documented record does not identify a single enacted bill or one policy campaign as Gallagher’s signature. It instead shows an institutional route through Sutter County government, Republican legislative leadership and congressional committee work. He has held elected office since 2008, moving from the Board of Supervisors to the Assembly and then the House.
His record includes local government service, Republican organization, membership in the Congressional Western Caucus and transportation committee work. His professional background adds law and family agriculture, though the record does not tie either occupation to a specific legislative result. In Sacramento, his caucus leadership roles included chairman in 2017 and minority leader from 2022 to 2025. In Washington, his work includes assignments involving transportation systems and foreign affairs, along with membership in the Western Caucus and Republican Study Committee.
Gallagher’s career has taken him from the Sutter County Board of Supervisors through the Assembly’s Republican leadership and into Congress as a Republican.
- State Assembly · Assembly District 3 · 2014–present
James Gallagher’s record includes East Nicolaus High School, a family rice and walnut operation, the Sutter County Board of Supervisors and the State Assembly. He entered politics as a fellow for Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, won his first election in 2008 and has held elected office in California continuously since then. A lawyer and partner in a fifth-generation farming operation, Gallagher combined those professions with a Republican political career that took him from county government to leadership in Sacramento. He served as Assembly minority leader from 2022 to 2025. Since 2026, he has represented California’s 1st congressional district in the U.S. House.
ROOTS
Gallagher was born March 7, 1981, into a family with a long record in northern California. He is descended from Irish immigrants who settled in the region in the early 1800s. His paternal grandfather, Robert Gallagher, served on the Sutter County Board of Supervisors from 1985 to 1989, an office Gallagher would later hold himself.
After East Nicolaus High School, Gallagher earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from UC Berkeley and a law degree from UC Davis. He has practiced law since 2007. He is also a partner in his family’s rice and walnut farming operation.
Gallagher met his wife, Janna, when they were in kindergarten at Browns School in Rio Oso. They have five children. His education took him from East Nicolaus High School to UC Berkeley and UC Davis, while his career has included the family farm and county board service.
THE PATH TO OFFICE
Gallagher began in state politics through the Fellowship Program, working for Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa. His elected career began with the Sutter County Board of Supervisors. Voters elected him to the board in 2008, and he served there until his election to the Legislature.
On November 4, 2014, Gallagher won a seat in the California State Assembly. He succeeded Republican Dan Logue, who had run unsuccessfully for Congress that year. Gallagher moved into caucus leadership in 2017 as Republican Caucus chairman. From 2022 through 2025, he served as Assembly minority leader, placing him at the head of the chamber’s Republican membership.
The progression was steady: legislative fellowship, county supervisor, Assembly member, caucus chairman and minority leader. Gallagher is a Republican, and his Assembly leadership included chairing the Republican Caucus.
THE MOVE TO CONGRESS
In 2026, Gallagher ran for the open seat in California’s 1st congressional district after LaMalfa’s death. President Donald Trump and eight Republican members of California’s congressional delegation endorsed him. Gallagher defeated Democrats Audrey Denney and Mike McGuire in the special election and was sworn into the House on June 10, 2026. Gallagher and McGuire also advanced to a November rematch in the election for the new district boundaries.
His House assignments divide between foreign affairs and transportation. Gallagher serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee and its subcommittees covering South and Central Asia and the Western Hemisphere. He also serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, with subcommittee assignments covering aviation; highways and transit; and railroads, pipelines and hazardous materials.
Within the House’s political organization, Gallagher belongs to the Congressional Western Caucus and the Republican Study Committee.
THE THROUGH LINE
The documented record does not identify a single enacted bill or one policy campaign as Gallagher’s signature. It instead shows an institutional route through Sutter County government, Republican legislative leadership and congressional committee work. He has held elected office since 2008, moving from the Board of Supervisors to the Assembly and then the House.
His record includes local government service, Republican organization, membership in the Congressional Western Caucus and transportation committee work. His professional background adds law and family agriculture, though the record does not tie either occupation to a specific legislative result. In Sacramento, his caucus leadership roles included chairman in 2017 and minority leader from 2022 to 2025. In Washington, his work includes assignments involving transportation systems and foreign affairs, along with membership in the Western Caucus and Republican Study Committee.
Gallagher’s career has taken him from the Sutter County Board of Supervisors through the Assembly’s Republican leadership and into Congress as a Republican.
The record
3,449 events, each with its sourceWildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force: FAIR Plan policies: wildland-urban interface.
California-Ireland Trade Commission.
Municipal utility districts: termination of service.
Juveniles: transfer to court of criminal jurisdiction: offense.
Personal income taxes: Fire Safe Home Tax Credits Act.
California Association of Future Farmers of America.
TORCH Act Targeted Operations to Remove Catastrophic Hazards Act
Wildfire prevention: local assistance grant program: eligible activities.
California Peace Officers’ Memorial Day.
SAFE Act Safety and Accountability in Freight Enforcement Act
State of emergency: Governor’s powers and termination.
State of emergency: Governor’s powers and annual report.
Gordon Lee Bordsen Memorial Highway.
Electrical corporations: wildfire mitigation plans: expenditures.
Relative to Japanese American concentration camps.
SB 106 Laird Senate Third Reading By Gabriel Amend By TANGIPA Set #1 Motion to Lay on the Table By AGUIAR-CURRY
SB 106 Laird Senate Third Reading By Gabriel
HR 84 BRYAN Assembly Third Reading
California Endangered Species Act: take prohibition: self-defense.
Relative to Women’s History Month.
HR 77 Carrillo Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
ACR 127 Muratsuchi Consent Calendar Second Day
AJR 25 BONTA Assembly Third Reading
Public utilities: electrical and gas corporations: return on equity.
AB 292 Patterson Assembly Third Reading
AB 375 Nguyen Assembly Third Reading
AB 442 Hadwick Assembly Third Reading
AB 464 Aguiar-Curry Assembly Third Reading
AB 501 Papan Assembly Third Reading
AB 634 Jeff Gonzalez Assembly Third Reading
AB 683 Davies Consent Calendar Second Day
AB 713 Solache Assembly Third Reading
AB 739 Jackson Assembly Third Reading
AB 762 Irwin Assembly Third Reading
AB 763 Ward Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 910 Bonta Assembly Third Reading
AB 939 Schultz Assembly Third Reading
AB 1049 Celeste Rodriguez Assembly Third Reading By JACKSON
AB 1080 Bryan Assembly Third Reading
AB 1126 Patterson Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1153 Bonta Assembly Third Reading