GOP Rep. Doug LaMalfa Dies at 65, Tightening House Majority

A Sudden Loss on Capitol Hill

Washington woke Wednesday to the news that Republican Representative Doug LaMalfa of California died overnight at the age of 65, shrinking the already-slim GOP House majority and throwing the chamber into fresh uncertainty.

The Farmer-Lawmaker from the North State

Colleagues remembered LaMalfa not as a partisan firebrand but as the rice-farmer-turned-statesman who kept a tractor calendar on his desk and spoke more about irrigation canals than cable-news hits. First elected in 2012, he quietly built a reputation as a defender of rural water rights, forest management and veterans’ clinics across California’s sprawling 1st District.

“Doug never forgot the dirt under his nails,” said Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif. “He reminded us that every federal rule lands differently when your neighbor’s livelihood depends on it.”

What Happens Next

With LaMalfa’s passing, Republicans hold 217 seats to Democrats’ 213, giving Speaker Mike Johnson a one-vote effective margin on party-line votes. California Governor Gavin Newsom has ten days to call a special election; the heavily Republican district is expected to stay in GOP hands, but the timing could complicate must-pass spending bills this summer.

• Special primary: likely late July
• General election: no later than mid-September
• House returns from recess: September 10

Tributes Pour In

Flags at the Capitol were lowered to half-staff as lawmakers from both parties filled the floor with stories of LaMalfa loading staffers’ cars with Sacramento Valley oranges and slipping handwritten thank-you notes under their doors after late votes.

He is survived by his wife, Jill, and four children. Funeral arrangements are pending in Richvale, the tiny farming community where he still helped harvest every October.