On Jan. 6, 2026, Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) died, leaving California's 1st Congressional District vacant. According to NBC News' Scott Wong and Kyle Stewart, LaMalfa died in surgery following a medical emergency at his residence.

The vacancy now brings the Republican majority in the chamber to 218 to 213, with four vacancies.

LaMalfa’s electoral history in California’s 1st Congressional District

In 2012, LaMalfa ran for his first term in the U.S. House of Representatives in California’s 1st Congressional District after incumbent Rep. Wally Herger (R) announced that he would not seek re-election. In the general election, he defeated Jim Reed (D) 57% to 43%. 

LaMalfa won by a median of 20 percentage points in his six subsequent re-election bids. LaMalfa's largest margin of victory (MOV) in the district was in 2024, when he won by 30 percentage points. His narrowest MOV in the district was in 2018, when he won by 10 percentage points.

Vacancies in the 119th Congress

So far in the 119th Congress, there have been nine in the U.S. House and three in the U.S. Senate. Of those vacancies:

• Two in the U.S. Senate were filled via appointment.
• One in the U.S. Senate was filled when Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) was sworn into office 11 days after the start of the 119th Congress. Justice delayed his swearing-in in order to fulfill the remainder of his term as governor of West Virginia.
• Five in the U.S. House were filled after special election winners were sworn in.

As of Jan. 6, the vacancies in California's 1st Congressional District, Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, and Texas' 18th Congressional District have not been filled.

Of the 12 vacancies, the longest is the vacancy in Texas' 18th Congressional District, which has been vacant since the death of Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas) on March 5, 2025. As of Jan. 6, the district has been vacant for 307 days.

Congressional vacancies since the 113th Congress

During the 113th through 118th Congresses, there were 88 vacancies in the U.S. House and 19 in the U.S. Senate. The average length of a vacancy in the U.S. Senate during that period was six days. The average length of a vacancy in the U.S. House during that period was 138 days.

The longest vacancy in the U.S. Senate during that period was in New Jersey. The vacancy occurred during the 118th Congress, when Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) resigned on Aug. 20, 2024. Following Menendez's resignation, the seat was vacant for 20 days.

The longest vacancy in the U.S. House during that period was in Michigan's 13th Congressional District. The vacancy occurred during the 115th Congress, when Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) resigned on Oct. 27, 2019. Following Conyers' resignation, the seat was vacant for 359 days.