California Democrats wasted no time fundraising for the state’s now-open congressional seat, sending an email to donors less than 24 hours after Republican California Rep. Doug LaMalfa’s funeral.
LaMalfa, who represented California’s 1st Congressional District since 2013, died Jan. 6 at age 65 after suffering an aneurysm followed by a heart attack. Republicans and Democrats gathered Saturday afternoon for a memorial service to remember the late lawmaker. By Sunday, however, California Democrats had sent out a fundraising email tied to the special election to fill his seat, according to KCRA3 Political Director Ashley Zavala.
Screenshots of the email show Democrats urging supporters to “rush a donation right now to fund the organizing that will flip seats up and down the state.”
“With the Republican U.S. House Majority essentially down to zero, flipping this seat from re to blue could give Democrats control of the U.S. House even before the midterms in November,” the email states. “Surprise twists like this are PROOF that keeping our Forever Organizing program year round is the right decision.”
“We have an opportunity to flip a red seat blue — and we are ready to act,” the email adds. “We haven’t stopped organizing in swing districts to take advantage of the opportunity Prop 50 has given us. California is ground zero for taking back the U.S. House, which is why we need you! Will you rush a rapid response donation right now?”
California’s congressional map is set to undergo major changes for Republicans following the approval of Proposition 50, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new gerrymandering maps, by voters in November 2025. Despite efforts by the state’s GOP and the Department of Justice to secure a temporary restraining order, a three-judge panel upheld the maps on Jan. 14.
Following the ruling, California Republicans appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the maps remain in place, Republican congressional representation is expected to shrink from nine seats to four as district boundaries are redrawn.
LaMalfa’s district was among those impacted by the new map, though the late lawmaker had pledged to seek reelection in the newly drawn district.
After LaMalfa’s death, Newsom announced Jan. 16 that a special election to fill the seat will be held Aug. 4, the latest date allowed. Under state law, Newsom was required to call a special election within 14 days of the GOP lawmaker’s death and hold the election within 140 days, or up to 200 days later if consolidated with another.
California’s June 2 primary election will also allow voters to cast ballots for the special election primary in the 1st Congressional District. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, that individual will win outright and serve the remainder of LaMalfa’s term through Jan. 3, 2027.
The announcement regarding Newsom’s special election timeline drew sharp call outs from the GOP. The California Assembly Republican Caucus wrote a letter to the Democratic governor stating that the state’s rural residents’ “already suffer from a severe lack of meaningful representation in both Sacramento and Washington D.C..”
“When a congressional seat representing one of the largest and most rural districts in the state is left vacant, it sends a clear message: OUR VOICES ARE NOT A PRIORITY,” the letter added.
Newsom, however, told Los Angeles Times that merging the special and state primaries would reduce “the risk of voter confusion,” citing the different district boundaries used across separate elections.
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