Race · November 3, 2026

U.S. House · California's 1st District

2 candidates on the ballot.1

How this race is decided: Under California's top-two system, only the two candidates who received the most votes in the June 2, 2026, primary, regardless of party preference, appear on this general-election ballot.1,2

§1Candidates

Why this matters: Every candidate the state lists for this race on the November ballot, in the state's own order.

Mike McGuire
Democratic · Challenger
James Gallagher
Republican · Incumbent
Currently represents California's 1st District in the U.S. House.

§2Side by side

Why this matters: The same facts for every candidate, in the same order. Where we found nothing for a candidate, the cell says so — that means we didn't find it in public sources, not that it doesn't exist.

Scroll sideways on small screens. Select a name for the full page.
Mike McGuireJames Gallagher
Party on the ballotDemocratic1,3Republican1
StatusChallengerIncumbent4
Raised$2,266,830 through October 14, 20265$1,995,260 through October 14, 20266
Cash on hand$153,6475$327,7296
Outside spending$526,509 for · $0 against7Not found in the public sources we checked

Issues only one candidate has addressed

By candidate, in ballot order. We found nothing public from the other candidates in this race on these issues.

Mike McGuire — 28 issues
  • Birth control and IVF
    Guarantee access to both in federal law, including insurance coverage for IVF
    His campaign website says he would protect access to contraception and IVF and make those rights the law of the land.8,9
  • Government funding and abortion
    His campaign's rural plan says he would protect federal funding for reproductive health care and reverse the administration's cuts to Planned Parenthood funding.10
  • Who sets abortion law
    A national law making abortion legal in every state, at least until viability, as under Roe v. Wade
    His campaign website says he will defend abortion rights and that federal leaders should make reproductive freedom the law of the land, and his rural plan calls for permanent federal protections for abortion care, contraception and other reproductive health care in all 50 states.9,10
  • Supreme Court term limits
    Set fixed terms, such as 18 years
    His campaign website says he would fight to impose term limits on the U.S. Supreme Court.11
  • Federal minimum wage
    His campaign website calls for increasing the minimum wage.12
  • Small business loans and programs
    Expand SBA loans, research awards and contracting help for small businesses
    His campaign's rural plan says he would expand Small Business Administration, USDA Rural Development and Economic Development Administration investment in rural Northern California, and make federal loans, grants and technical help easier for small and family-owned businesses to get.10
  • Tariffs
    Lower or remove most tariffs
    His campaign website calls for repealing President Trump's tariffs, and his rural plan calls for eliminating them, saying they raise costs for North State families and expose rural industries to retaliation.10,12
  • Student loan forgiveness
    Add targeted relief, such as more forgiveness for public service workers or through income-based repayment
    His campaign's rural plan says he would expand loan forgiveness and other incentives for doctors, dentists, behavioral health workers and other providers who commit to practicing in rural communities, and expand loan forgiveness for teachers who commit to rural and underserved schools.10
  • Tuition-free college
    Free tuition at community colleges
    His campaign website lists tuition-free community college among the things higher taxes on the wealthy should pay for, and his rural plan calls for expanding federal support for it.10,13
  • US Department of Education
    Keep the department and its programs, or expand it
    His campaign's rural plan says he would restore full funding and operations to the U.S. Department of Education and its Office for Civil Rights.10
  • Campaign finance rules
    Limit spending by outside groups, including by amending the Constitution to overturn Citizens United
    His campaign website says he would fight to overturn Citizens United.11
  • Clean energy tax credits
    His campaign's rural plan says he would reinstate federal funding for local renewable energy and storage projects, including solar, wind, battery storage, biomass and geothermal.10
  • Oil and gas drilling on federal land and offshore
    His campaign website says he has fought offshore oil drilling along California's coast.14
  • Wildfire prevention and forest management
    His campaign website says he would double the U.S. Forest Service budget for firefighting and forest management, restore Forest Service cuts, and increase prescribed burns and home hardening, and his rural plan calls for expanding and speeding up fuel reduction, prescribed fire and thinning near at-risk communities and for modernizing federal reviews with clear timelines while keeping public input.10,15
  • Child care costs
    His campaign website says money from higher taxes on billionaires and big corporations should go to needs including universal child care, and his rural plan calls for more federal investment in affordable child care slots, with priority for rural areas.10,13
  • Iran's nuclear program and sanctions
    His campaign website calls the war with Iran illegal and says he would work to stop it, while supporting diplomacy, regional de-escalation and a strategy to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.16
  • Who decides on military action
    Require Congress to approve military action in advance, except to defend against an attack
    His campaign website says no president should be able to take the country to war without congressional authorization and that he would work to reassert Congress's war powers.16
  • ACA premium tax credits
    Bring back the larger credits permanently
    His campaign's rural plan says he would restore the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies and make them permanent.10
  • Federal Medicaid funding
    Reverse the 2025 changes or increase federal funding
    His campaign's rural plan says he would reverse the $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts it attributes to President Trump, which it says threaten rural hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and coverage for more than 3 million Californians.10,17
  • Health insurance system
    One government plan for everyone (Medicare for All)
    His campaign website says that in Congress he would fight to pass Medicare for All, guaranteeing health care to every American.8,10,17,18
  • Help for first-time homebuyers
    His campaign website says he would push for major federal investment in affordable housing, help for first-time homebuyers, and renter tax credits and protections, and his rural plan calls for expanding federal assistance and loan programs for first-time homebuyers.10,19
  • Immigration enforcement inside the country
    His campaign website says he would make ICE agents liable in court for violating constitutional rights, set a use-of-force policy for federal law enforcement, and require judicial warrants to search homes and businesses.20
  • Masks and identification for immigration officers
    Require visible ID and body cameras, and ban most face coverings
    His campaign website says that in the State Senate he led efforts requiring ICE agents to remove their masks, and that in Congress he would require federal agents to wear body cameras.20
  • Federal disaster aid (FEMA)
    His campaign website says he would reverse cuts to FEMA and improve emergency response and disaster recovery, and his rural plan calls for faster federal disaster reimbursements and simpler recovery programs for wildfire survivors.10,15
  • Medicare drug price negotiation
    Expand it to more drugs and to people with private insurance
    His campaign's rural plan says he would defend and expand Medicare's power to negotiate lower drug prices, and protect Medicare's yearly out-of-pocket cap, insulin protections and no-cost vaccines.10
  • Federal income tax rates
    Raise rates on high incomes only (for example, above $400,000)
    His campaign website says he would repeal what it describes as $2.2 trillion in Trump tax cuts for the very wealthy, close loopholes for the rich, and have billionaires and big corporations pay more.13
  • Targeted tax breaks for individuals and families
    Add or expand breaks for costs such as education savings, adoption and selling a home
    His campaign's rural plan says he would pass a federal renter's tax credit modeled on state programs such as California's.10
  • High-speed internet access
    Pay to build networks where service is lacking, and help low-income households with monthly bills
    His campaign website calls for expanded rural broadband, and his rural plan says he would protect committed federal broadband funding, deliver high-speed internet to unserved and underserved rural communities, streamline permitting for broadband and cell projects, and protect programs that help low-income families afford internet service.10,21,22

Issue statements are drafted by AI from the public sources cited, and only cover what each candidate has said publicly.