Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California has died, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer announced Tuesday morning.
LaMalfa, 65, had served in the House since 2013, representing a district that stretched from the Oregon and Nevada state lines south to the edge of Sacramento. He won re-election in 2024 with almost two-thirds of the vote, but the district was set to be redrawn to give Democrats an edge in the 2026 midterm elections.
“Doug was a loving father and husband, and staunch advocate for his constituents and rural America. Our prayers are with Doug’s wife, Jill, and their children,” Emmer, R-Minn., wrote on X.
LaMalfa, who represented California’s 1st Congressional District, was a fourth-generation rice farmer and a native Northern Californian, according to his congressional bio. He served in the California state Assembly and state Senate before being elected to the U.S. House in 2012.
“I want to express our tremendous sorrow at the loss of a great member, great, great, great member, Congressman Doug LaMalfa, who passed away yesterday,” President Donald Trump told Republican lawmakers gathered in Washington on Tuesday.
Trump praised LaMalfa for his work on water rights before adding, “You know, he voted with me 100% of the time.”
LaMalfa’s House colleagues lauded his dedication to his constituents. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said LaMalfa was “as fierce of a fighter for his state’s vast natural resources and beauty as we have ever known.” Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., recalled entering the House the same year as LaMalfa and said he “served those he represented with principled purpose.”
LaMalfa’s death — and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation at 11:59 p.m. Monday — brings the breakdown of the House to 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats. This means that on a party-line vote with full attendance, Republicans can only afford to lose two of their members and still pass the legislation, further shrinking Speaker Mike Johnson’s already razor-thin majority.
A runoff for the special election to replace the late Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, is set for Jan. 31. The two final candidates are Democrats, so the seat will remain blue.
When Turner’s replacement is sworn in, Democrats will hold 214 seats to Republicans’ 218, which means on a party-line vote with full attendance, Republicans will only be able to afford to lose one of their members and still pass legislation.
Mychael Schnell is a reporter for MS NOW.