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 sourceAB 560 Addis Concurrence in Senate Amendments
SB 533 Richardson Senate Third Reading By Wilson
SB 711 McNerney Third Reading Urgency By McKinnor
AB 546 Caloza Concurrence in Senate Amendments
SB 464 Smallwood-Cuevas Senate Third Reading By McKinnor
SB 307 Cervantes Senate Third Reading By Fong
SB 471 Menjivar Third Reading Urgency By Jeff Gonzalez
SB 477 Blakespear Senate Third Reading By Bryan
SB 485 Reyes Senate Third Reading By Schultz
AB 1384 Nguyen Concurrence in Senate Amendments
SB 571 Archuleta Senate Third Reading By Gabriel
SB 610 Pérez Senate Third Reading By Harabedian
SB 486 Cabaldon Senate Third Reading By Fong
AB 506 Bennett Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 1348 Bains Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 1340 Wicks Concurrence in Senate Amendments
SB 660 Menjivar Senate Third Reading By Bonta
SB 627 Wiener Senate Third Reading By Carrillo
SB 663 Allen Third Reading Urgency By Irwin
AB 1326 Ahrens Concurrence in Senate Amendments
SB 333 Laird Senate Third Reading By Addis
SB 669 McGuire Senate Third Reading By Bonta
AB 1318 Bonta Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 1312 Schiavo Concurrence in Senate Amendments
SB 304 Arreguín Senate Third Reading By Bonta
AB 1303 Valencia Concurrence in Senate Amendments
SB 402 Valladares Senate Third Reading By Nguyen
AB 1296 Bonta Concurrence in Senate Amendments
SB 590 Durazo Senate Third Reading By Wicks
AB 1269 Bryan Concurrence - Urgency Added
AB 1239 Dixon Concurrence in Senate Amendments
SB 283 Laird Senate Third Reading By Petrie-Norris
SB 427 Blakespear Senate Third Reading By Connolly
AB 449 Jackson Concurrence in Senate Amendments
SB 586 Jones Senate Third Reading By Jeff Gonzalez
AB 440 Ramos Concurrence in Senate Amendments
SB 71 Wiener Senate Third Reading By Ward
SB 805 Pérez Third Reading Urgency By Ortega
SB 793 Archuleta Senate Third Reading By Ransom
AB 1123 Muratsuchi Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 411 Papan Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 1103 Ward Concurrence in Senate Amendments
SB 640 Cabaldon Senate Third Reading By Aguiar-Curry
SB 413 Allen Senate Third Reading By McKinnor
SB 41 Wiener Senate Third Reading By Bonta
AB 393 Connolly Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 1075 Bryan Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 62 McKinnor Concurrence in Senate Amendments
SB 36 Umberg Senate Third Reading By Krell
SB 263 Gonzalez Senate Third Reading By Lowenthal