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
3,133 events, each with its sourceOn Passage RC# 283
On Agreeing to the Resolution RC# 282
On Motion to Recommit RC# 279
On Passage RC# 280
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Self of Texas Part A Amendment No. 28 RC# 273
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Issa of California Part A Amendment No. 30 RC# 274
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Harrigan of North Carolina Part A Amendment No. 44 RC# 275
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Grothman of Wisconsin Part A Amendment No. 316 RC# 276
On Motion to Recommit RC# 277
On Passage RC# 278
On Agreeing to the Resolution RC# 281
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended RC# 252
On Motion to Recommit RC# 270
On Passage RC# 271
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Boebert of Colorado Part A Amendment No. 1 RC# 255
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Boebert of Colorado Part A Amendment No. 2 RC# 256
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Boebert of Colorado Part A Amendment No. 3 RC# 257
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Boebert of Colorado Part A Amendment No. 4 RC# 258
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Hunt of Texas Part A Amendment No. 6 RC# 259
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Hunt of Texas Part A Amendment No. 7 RC# 260
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Gallagher of California Part A Amendment No. 8 RC# 261
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Carter of Georgia Part A Amendment No. 9 RC# 262
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Crane of Arizona Part A Amendment No. 14 RC# 263
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Crane of Arizona Part A Amendment No. 15 RC# 264
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Crank of Colorado Part A Amendment No. 17 RC# 265
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Boebert of Colorado Part A Amendment No. 18 RC# 266
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Mace of South Carolina Part A Amendment No. 19 RC# 267
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Mace of South Carolina Part A Amendment No. 20 RC# 268
On Agreeing to the Amendment: McDowell of North Carolina Part A Amendment No. 26 RC# 269
On Passage RC# 272
On Ordering the Previous Question RC# 253
On Agreeing to the Resolution RC# 254
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended RC# 250
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended RC# 251
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass RC# 248
On Motion to Recommit RC# 249
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Boebert of Colorado Part A Amendment No. 1 RC# 241
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Fine of Florida Part A Amendment No. 6 RC# 242
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Massie of Kentucky Part A Amendment No. 8 RC# 243
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Massie of Kentucky Part A Amendment No. 9 RC# 244
On Agreeing to the Amendment: Roy of Texas Part A Amendment No. 20 RC# 245
On Motion to Recommit RC# 246
On Passage RC# 247
On Passage RC# 238
On Motion to Recommit RC# 239
On Passage RC# 240
On Ordering the Previous Question RC# 236
On Agreeing to the Resolution RC# 237
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass RC# 234
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended RC# 235