Early returns from the 1st Congressional District primary election show Republican James Gallagher leading with 47% of the vote, followed by Democrat Mike McGuire with 37.5%.
Chico Democrat Audrey Denney trails with about 13%, according to results reported at 2 p.m. today.
Gallagher, from East Nicolas in Sutter County, and McGuire, from Healdsburg in Sonoma County, will likely move on to the November General Election, vieing for votes in the redrawn District 1.
In Chico, Democrats were bitterly divided for months between McGuire and Denney. But at a June 2 watch party at a local pizza restaurant, there seemed to be a coalescing around McGuire by those in attendance, many of whom sported his campaign T-shirt.
A ChicoSol reporter was blocked from attending a local Republican Party event held June 2 at The Palms — even though it appeared that other media representatives were admitted.
Democrats celebrate the primary
Local Democrats were buoyed when McGuire called in to the watch party with results, cheering and applauding joyfully.
Annie Kavanaugh, who was in attendance, said she was encouraged by the primary.
“[McGuire] is going to go up against Gallagher and it’s going to be a very clear fight, for people to decide what kind of representation they really want for the North State,” Kavanaugh said. “In our case, we have not been well represented. I truly believe McGuire is going to change the tone of how people act together.”
Conservative Richvale Republican Doug LaMalfa represented District 1 in Congress for more than a dozen years, but passed away unexpectedly Jan. 6. LaMalfa represented what was then a majority-Republican district, but when Proposition 50 passed last November, the district was re-drawn to give Democrats a majority.
The redistricting was a response to Republican gerrymandering elsewhere in the country and an effort to pick up five seats in Congress for the Democrats.
Voter turnout poor — even with redistricting
Some Butte County Democrats, even with the boost from redistricting, were discouraged by the poor voter turnout for the June 2 primary, which was about 28% of all registered voters.
“The early turnout was very poor,” said David Welch, recording secretary for the Butte Democratic Party. “The rate of people who were 65 and older voting was twice as great as people who were under 35 voting.”
Welch blamed poor voter turnout on the governor’s race, which he called “confusing” and “uninspiring.”
California voters were asked to vote for one of an astounding list of 61 candidates; Butte County Supervisor Tami Ritter said the “large pool made it more confusing for voters.”
“We suffered from a glut of too many,” Ritter said, adding that “LaMalfa’s untimely passing contributed to a strange election.”
“Having more than one ballot sent out was definitely a challenge for people,” she said.
Two ballots were sent out for District 1: One gave voters a chance to vote in a special election for someone to finish the rest of LaMalfa’s term under old District 1 lines, and the other a chance to vote for a candidate serving a term representing the new District 1. (Gallagher won the special election.)
Gallagher commented on the redistricting in a statement posted on his Facebook.
“In November we will be running in a new District, drawn not by an independent citizens commission, but in a backroom by my opponent Mike McGuire and other Sacramento politicians,” Gallagher said. “The results tonight indicate that we will do well, as voters are fed up with Gavin Newsom and his chief Lieutenant Mike McGuire ….”
Among the nine counties in District 1, McGuire leads in only two — Sonoma and Mendocino — while Gallagher leads in the remaining counties. Sonoma County — the most populous in the district — gave McGuire 24,468 votes.
McGuire is going to go up against Gallagher and it’s going to be a very clear fight, for people to decide what kind of representation they really want for the North State — Annie Kavanaugh
In Butte County, Gallagher received 55.4% of the vote, while Denney and McGuire received 22.3% and 21.3%, respectively, with 58.2% of ballots counted.
“To the voters of the North State — thank you!” McGuire said in a statement.
“There’s a lot more that brings us together than divides us … The hard working folks who call the First District home are tired of the chaos, corruption, and cruelty of the Trump administration … Come this November, we will flip this seat and give the people what they deserve — a fighter who never folds, a leader who will deliver for rural California, and a representative who will hold Donald Trump accountable.”
Denney, meanwhile, said that while this was not the outcome she hoped for, this campaign was never just about one election.
“The challenges facing our communities did not begin with this election, and they will not end with it,” Denney wrote in a statement posted on her Facebook. “The influence of corporate money, the disconnect between political institutions and everyday life, and the struggle to ensure every voice is heard remain urgent challenges that require all of us to stay engaged.”
At the time the results were reported, an estimated 50.5% of expected votes had been counted, with approximately 104,000 ballots still outstanding.
McGuire raised the most campaign funding
Federal campaign finance records show McGuire leading the field in fundraising, with about $1.47 million raised and $1.25 million spent as of May 13.
Gallagher reported raising about $1.05 million, and spending roughly $568,000, while Democrat Audrey Denney reported raising about $842,000 and spending about $747,000.
All three candidates relied primarily on individual contributions.
However, Gallagher received about $219,000 from “other committee contributions,” which mainly consist of Political Action Committees (PACs), while McGuire received about $189,000 from the same category. Denney reported only about $14,500 in such contributions, reflecting a campaign funded overwhelmingly by individual donors.
Yucheng Tang is a California Local News fellow reporting for ChicoSol. Leslie Layton is editor.