photo credit: Michelle Marques
California State Senator Mike McGuire (left) talks with a constituent at the No Kings march on October 18, 2025.

California State Senator Mike McGuire, who lives in Healdsburg, recently announced his campaign for Congress. McGuire shares his motivations and priorities in an interview this week with KRCB’s Michelle Marques.

McGuire is running for California’s newly redrawn 1st Congressional District seat.

“I'm running for Congress because Northern California is my home. It's been my family's home for generations,” said McGuire. “It's where my family has farmed the rich soils of the Golden State. It's where Erika and I are raising Connor, my 4 and a half-year-old, and where I have been honored to be able to work in the State Senate.”

McGuire is touting his accomplishments in the state Senate over the last decade, which he says would make him effective as a member of Congress.

“We’ve delivered $3 billion dollars for the North Coast and the North Bay, rebuilding and modernizing schools, investing record-finding for our kids, passing the largest affordability package in our state's history, making life more affordable for every Californian,” said McGuire.”

The Senator is running for Congress after voters approved Prop 50 in response to gerrymandering in Texas. There are currently lawsuits aimed at overturning Prop 50.

“Republicans have challenged the state of California three times thus far, and they have struck out each of those three times they have challenged proposition 50,” McGuire said.

The seat is currently held by Republican Doug LaMalfa.

“Congressman LaMalfa has cut the health care for millions,” said McGuire. “He's raised health care premiums, the cost of health care insurance by hundreds, if not thousands of dollars each month for tens of thousands of Californians. He's taken food away from the most vulnerable families.”

When asked about the low view many Americans have of Congress in recent polls, McGuire says he thinks voters want change.

“The biggest thing that Americans can do to ensure that we have an effective, efficient Congress that delivers for working families is to flip the House of Representatives,” McGuire said. “Speaker Mike Johnson is the most ineffective, most impotent speaker that we have ever had in the history of the United States of America. He is an embarrassment to all of us. He’s taken a knee to Donald Trump, just like Doug LaMalfa.”

Voters will decide during the midterm elections in November 2026.