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 1034 Ávila Farías Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 300 Lackey Assembly Third Reading
AB 965 Dixon Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 956 Quirk-Silva Assembly Third Reading
AB 587 Davies Assembly Third Reading
SCR 59 Allen Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 500 Quirk-Silva Assembly Third Reading
AB 777 Celeste Rodriguez Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 779 Lackey Assembly Third Reading
AB 784 Hoover Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 729 Zbur Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 953 Pacheco Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1346 DeMaio Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1114 Ávila Farías Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 815 Ortega Assembly Third Reading
AB 818 Ávila Farías Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1125 Nguyen Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1017 Boerner Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1139 Rogers Assembly Third Reading
AB 1141 Lee Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 839 Blanca Rubio Assembly Third Reading
AB 950 Solache Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
ACR 24 Alanis Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1014 Rogers Assembly Third Reading
AB 922 Hoover Assembly Third Reading
Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act of 2025
SB 49 Grove Third Reading Urgency By Tangipa
AB 571 Quirk-Silva Third Reading Urgency
AB 578 Bauer-Kahan Assembly Third Reading
AB 656 Schiavo Assembly Third Reading
AB 645 Carrillo Assembly Third Reading
AB 609 Wicks Assembly Third Reading
AJR 11 Ransom Assembly Third Reading
AB 987 Sharp-Collins Assembly Third Reading
AB 1061 Quirk-Silva Assembly Third Reading
AB 1071 Kalra Assembly Third Reading
AB 1103 Ward Assembly Third Reading
AB 930 Ward Assembly Third Reading
AB 920 Caloza Assembly Third Reading
AB 1190 Haney Assembly Third Reading
AB 904 Aguiar-Curry Assembly Third Reading
AJR 5 Lee Assembly Third Reading
AB 1220 Arambula Assembly Third Reading
AB 1223 Nguyen Assembly Third Reading
AB 1237 McKinnor Third Reading Urgency
AB 881 Petrie-Norris Assembly Third Reading
AB 828 Mark González Assembly Third Reading
AB 1303 Valencia Assembly Third Reading
AB 260 Aguiar-Curry Assembly Third Reading