Republican Assemblyman James Gallagher is already thinking about the first things he wants to do when he reaches Congress.
Gallagher said moving the Sites Reservoir project forward will be a priority, along with getting the money needed for the possible reopening of Glenn Medical Center in Willows.
“Look, we’re going to get right to work,” Gallagher told NSPR at his election night watch party. “I want to hit the ground running on these issues that are really important to the area.”
Finding ways the federal government can “incentivize” utilities to lower energy costs is also a priority, Gallagher said.
“Electricity. I’m looking at, Hey, how can we do reforms that cut our PG&E bills, right?” he said. “How can we do some reforms that will cut our gas bill?”
Gallagher wins special election outright
The Associated Press projects Gallagher will win Tuesday’s special election in California’s 1st Congressional District to replace the late Doug LaMalfa in the U.S. House of Representatives. Unofficial results Wednesday showed Gallagher with 62% of the vote, enough to avoid an August runoff.
Results are set to be certified by June 11.
Gallagher is set to serve out the rest of LaMalfa’s term, which runs to Jan. 3.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has been missing the North State’s reliable Republican vote since LaMalfa’s unexpected death in January. He congratulated Gallagher in a social media post Wednesday.
“I look forward to working together to continue delivering results and saving America!” Johnson said.
Gallagher advances to November, takes on McGuire
The AP also projects Gallagher will advance to the November general election for a full two-year term in District 1, which was redrawn under Proposition 50 to boost Democratic seats in the House. Democratic state Sen. Mike McGuire is also expected to advance.
Gallagher wasted no time attacking McGuire and the redistricting measure pushed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in response to Republican redistricting in Texas.
“Turns out we’re doing pretty good in the district that you rigged for yourself, too,” Gallagher said in his victory speech at The Palms in Chico.
He added: “We’re going to go shock the world. We’re going to win this district. It’s a lot of work.”
Preliminary results Wednesday showed Gallagher with 47% of the vote in that primary. McGuire trailed with 38%. Chico Democrat Audrey Denney had 13%.
McGuire declined an interview with NSPR on election night Tuesday. But in a social media post, he said voters “reminded us what democracy looks like” and that he’s campaigning to “take America back.”
“Now – onto November,” he said. “Let’s win this thing!”
