Doug LaMalfa

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, CA (MPG) - California residents awoke Tuesday, Jan. 6, to news of the sudden death of U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a longtime Northern California congressman and fourth-generation rice farmer. He was 65.

According to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office, authorities received a 911 call at approximately 6:50 p.m. on Jan. 5 from LaMalfa’s residence regarding a medical emergency. The call was transferred to medical personnel, who responded to the home and transported LaMalfa to Enloe Hospital in Chico for treatment. Upon arrival at the hospital, LaMalfa was taken into emergency surgery, where he died during the procedure. Some reports citing those close to LaMalfa indicated he had been experiencing stomach pain and later suffered an aortic aneurysm, a condition in which a weakened section of the aorta balloons outward.

In accordance with standard protocols, the Coroner’s Unit of the Butte County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an investigation to determine the cause of death. A forensic pathologist is scheduled to perform an autopsy as part of that process.

LaMalfa represented California’s First Congressional District, which includes Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sutter and Tehama counties, as well as parts of Yuba County, including Marysville, Wheatland, Linda, Olivehurst, Plumas Lake and Beale Air Force Base.

According to his House biography, LaMalfa was a lifelong Northern California resident, born in Oroville in 1960, and a fourth-generation Butte County rice farmer. He attended local schools before earning degrees from Butte College and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where he studied agricultural business.

Before his election to Congress in 2012, LaMalfa served in the California State Assembly and later in the State Senate. In Washington, he became known as a strong advocate for agriculture, rural communities and the North State’s resource-based economy, emphasizing limited government, fiscal restraint and regulatory reform.

LaMalfa also focused heavily on wildfire recovery and prevention, authoring legislation aimed at helping communities recover from catastrophic fires and reducing wildfire risks across Northern California. In 2025, he was unanimously elected chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, one of the largest caucuses in Congress, reflecting his leadership on rural and Western issues.

LaMalfa is survived by his wife, Jill, and their four children.

Tributes quickly poured in from across the Yuba-Sutter region and beyond, with many describing LaMalfa’s death as shocking and deeply saddening. Assemblyman James Gallagher shared a statement on social media, describing LaMalfa as a mentor and close friend.

“His focus was always on the people of his district and the American values he cherished so deeply,” Gallagher wrote. “There was no one who took the job of ‘representative’ more seriously than Doug. He traversed the district, going to every dinner and community event. He demanded answers from bureaucrats. He pushed hard for the things his people needed. He waited til the very end of every State of the Union so he could talk to the President, Republican or Democrat, about his district.”

President Donald Trump also issued remarks remembering LaMalfa as a “Defender of everybody” and someone he trusted. The California Farm Bureau released a statement calling LaMalfa a “champion of agriculture and rural California.”

“Doug's impact on California agriculture was felt not only through his policy work but through his presence in farming communities,” said Shannon Douglass, the Farm Bureau’s president. “As a lifelong Northern California rice farmer and business owner, Doug never lost touch with his family's multigeneration farming heritage. He invested in the people he represented — advancing their communities, their causes and their way of life — because he lived that way of life himself.”

Sutter County officials also issued a statement remembering LaMalfa as a passionate advocate for rural communities, agriculture, water resources and local families.

“His efforts to listen to and serve the people of Sutter County and beyond made a lasting impact on our region,” the county said in an online statement. “May his commitment to our community always be remembered, and may his family find peace and comfort during this difficult time.”

With LaMalfa’s seat now vacant, Gov. Gavin Newsom is required under state law to call a special election to fill the remainder of the term. The special election would be held within the existing First Congressional District boundaries and would determine a representative to serve until January 2027

The district lines were recently redrawn following voter approval of California Proposition 50 in November 2025. If the special election is scheduled alongside the June primary, voters could face multiple ballots and races, as the primary election for the next full two-year term will be conducted using the new district boundaries.

Newsom has not yet announced when he will act but a proclamation is expected within 14 days of the seat vacancy - as required by state law. In a statement released Tuesday (Jan. 6), the governor said, “Congressman Doug LaMalfa was a devoted public servant who deeply loved his country, his state, and the communities he represented. While we often approached issues from different perspectives, he fought every day for the people of California with conviction and care. He will be deeply missed.”

In Washington, LaMalfa’s death leaves Republicans with a narrow five-seat majority in the U.S. House.