The June 2 special election in District 1 — that includes Butte, Tehama and Glenn counties — could affect the slim Republican majority hold on Congress at a time when the Trump administration is pushing sweeping change at a rapid pace. And the June primary election features a hotly-contested gubernatorial race that could flip the top state office to the Republican party
The deadline to register to vote in both June 2 elections is just a month away. District 1 voters will receive two separate ballots — one for the special election and one for the primary election. (See sidebar for information on voter registration opportunities.)
So many Democrats are vying for the governor’s seat that the Democratic vote could be fractured, and voters could end up choosing from two Republicans under the open primary system adopted in California in 2010. “I think this is the most consequential election in the history of our country,” said David Welch, recording secretary for the Butte Democratic Party.
Special election to fill late congressman’s seat
The special election ballot will allow voters to fill the seat vacated by the unexpected death of Congressman Doug LaMalfa in January. That special election will be held for what is the old District 1 — the congressional district that LaMalfa represented for almost all his 13 years in Congress.
The key question is whether anyone can win a clear majority in this election. If no candidate wins 50% plus of the vote plus at least one — there will be a runoff election in August. Welch said it could make a big difference if LaMalfa’s seat is filled by a Republican or remains empty for two more months.
Democrats Audrey Denney of Chico and Mike McGuire of Healdsburg are running, as well as Republican James Gallagher. McGuire has the endorsement of the California Democratic Party, Denney has the endorsement of Chico’s Democratic Action Club, and Gallagher was endorsed by President Trump.
Democrats in Chico are divided between those loyal to Audrey Denney, who made a strong showing in her 2018 and 2020 attempts to unseat LaMalfa, and Senator Mike McGuire, who has greater name recognition in the new district, which now incorporates parts of Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties.
Kyle Wilson, who withdrew his candidacy for the redrawn District 1 seat to support Denney, blames McGuire for creating the possibility of a win for Republican Gallagher.
“Senator McGuire’s decision to run in a district he does not live in makes the math significantly more difficult for any Democrat,” he said in an email to ChicoSol. “It needlessly fragments the vote and risks handing the seat to the Republican candidate, especially in a low-turnout special election. That kind of self-interested move can have real consequences for the outcome.”
June primary for the new District 1 seat
Voters will also cast a ballot for a congressional representative for District 1, which was re-drawn by Proposition 50 in November. Running for that seat are McGuire, Denney and Gallagher in a district that will now lean Democratic.
McGuire believes that nationwide, the midterms will heavily favor his party.
“Democrats are ready to flip the House,” he told ChicoSol just before taking the stage at the Santa Rosa Finley Community Center.
In reference to recent elections, McGuire said, “Across the nation Democrats have outperformed the Republicans by 25 points. That is more than what is needed to take back the country. The temperament of the voters across the nation is that they are fed up and want change.”
Audrey Denney, who has much greater name recognition in Butte County than she does in the parts of Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino counties that were added to District 1, spent April 13 in Sonoma County working to build her base. At her first stop in Sebastopol — which was announced in a press release that ChicoSol only received earlier in the day — a couple of reporters stopped by and a resident of the area picked up campaign materials, said Laura Hagar Rush, reporter for the Sebastopol Times.
But there were nearly 150 people at a candidates forum at Santa Rosa’s Finley Community Center in the evening to hear Denney and McGuire, plus District 4 candidates Congressman Mike Thompson and his challenger Eric Jones.
Indivisible Sonoma County organized the candidate forum in order to decide which candidates to endorse for two of the three congressional races in Sonoma County.
Butte County races
In Butte County’s District 2, Marianne Paiva has challenged incumbent Peter Durfee for a seat on the Board of Supervisors. Durfee has held the seat since January 2019.
Tami Ritter, who is seeking election to a third term on the Board of Supervisors, is unopposed in her bid to keep the District 3 seat.
Also unopposed on the Butte County ballot are County Assessor Alyssa Douglas, Auditor-controller Graciela C. Gutierrez, Clerk-Recorder Keaton Denlay, Treasurer-Tax Collector Troy Kidd and Superintendent of Schools Mary Sakuma.
Three Tehama contests
Tehama voters can make choices for two county supervisors plus a county clerk recorder. Running for supervisorial seats in Tehama are Melani Kain and Steve Zane in District 3; and Matthew C. Hansen and Susan R. Price in District 4. Sean Houghtby and Patricia Stanfill Nolen are running for county clerk-recorder.
Running unopposed in Tehama are Assessor Burley Phillips, Auditor-Controller Krista Peterson, Treasurer-Tax Collector Parker R. Hunt, and Superintendent of Schools Jared K. Caylor.
Status Quo in Glenn County
Incumbents for all offices on the Glenn County ballot are unopposed. They are Supervisor Monica Rossman (District 2), Supervisor Jim Yoder (District 4), Superior Court Judge Alicia Ekland (Department 2), Assessor/Clerk-Recorder Sandy Perez and Superintendent of Schools Ryan Bentz.
Lindajoy Fenley is an editor at ChicoSol.