photo credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters
Mike McGuire in forefront.

California Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire has officially launched his challenge to longtime Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa in a congressional district drastically redrawn by Proposition 50. 

The Santa Rosa Democrat, who will hit his 12-year term limit in the Legislature next year, was widely viewed once the new maps were drawn as a prospective challenger to LaMalfa, a rice farmer from Oroville who has represented the North State in Congress since 2013. 

LaMalfa’s current district stretches from Siskiyou County and much of the Oregon-California border down through rural Shasta and Sutter Counties. Under the new voter-approved Prop. 50 maps, the district shifts south out of Modoc County and jogs westward to pick up parts of Sonoma County and McGuire’s home base of Santa Rosa. 

McGuire will face heavy skepticism from some northern rural residents in the 1st Congressional District, who just a few years ago tried to secede from liberal California to form the conservative “state of Jefferson” with rural parts of southern Oregon. 

In an apparent effort to head off inevitable accusations of being out of touch with rural life, McGuire spent much of his launch video doubling down on promises to prioritize farmers’ needs and “make sure rural communities get their fair share.” 

“I know these roads. I know these towns,” McGuire says as he strolls down a tree-lined country road, a white pickup truck clearly visible in the background. “This district is big, it’s rural, and now more than ever, it needs a fighter.”

After devastating wildfires that wiped out thousands of homes and killed dozens in Sonoma and Napa counties in 2017, McGuire made wildfire prevention his signature issue in the Legislature. Following the Palisades and Eaton fires in January, McGuire ushered through an ambitious 13-bill package that expanded insurance coverage and sped up rebuilding of damaged homes after destructive fires. 

His critics have said McGuire’s singular focus on wildfire issues sometimes clouded his ability to balance and prioritize other policy areas, especially once he ascended to the role of pro tem last February, succeeding the well-regarded former Sen. Toni Atkins and becoming the chief traffic cop for which bills could come to the Senate floor.

McGuire also developed a reputation for holding out on negotiations until he could extract a win for his policy priorities or his constituents: He was the top recipient of budget “earmarks” for local projects back home, funds that he will surely tout as major wins during his campaign. 

During last-minute negotiations on a multi-pronged climate and energy policy deal earlier this fall, Gov. Gavin Newsom had to make an eleventh hour visit to the Capitol to push McGuire and his team onto the same page as him and Assembly leadership. 

McGuire promised in his launch video to deliver “no drama, no BS, no gimmicks” if elected to Congress. And while he mostly shied away from the argument that he would flip a seat from Republican to Democratic control, he did acknowledge that he would push back on the Trump administration. 

“Don’t worry, I will always stand up to the destructive policies of Donald Trump,” he said in the video. “I’m all in — every damn day.”