California’s 1st Congressional District covers more ground than any other in the state — from remote corners of Modoc County in the northeast to the Klamath National Forest in the west and all the way south to Chico.
Now, it could be in for a shakeup. Proposition 50, a redistricting measure on the November ballot, would pause the current congressional map and replace it with one drawn to favor Democrats. It’s a response to a Republican-friendly redistricting plan recently passed in Texas. The changes would take effect through the 2030 elections.
In the 1st District, that could mean merging conservative inland counties with liberal coastal areas. Some folks in the region worry the change could further weaken their political voice in a state already dominated by Democrats.
In Modoc County, rural voices fear being left out
Modoc is California’s third-least populous county. That is, unless you count cattle, which outnumber people six to one.
“If our cattle could vote, we'd be doing well,” said rancher and County Supervisor Geri Byrne.
The current district was designed by the independent redistricting commission to group counties that rely on natural resources, like ranching, timber and farming. Under Prop 50, Modoc would remain with Siskiyou and Shasta counties but also be lumped in with Marin County on the coast in the new 2nd District.
Valerie Coe, an artist and rancher who moved to Modoc in the 1990s, said she worries her rural community would be forgotten in the proposed congressional district.
“The representation we have now is a gentleman who is a farmer himself, and so he understands the challenges we face in agriculture,” Coe said, referring to Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a Republican.
While there are agricultural communities on the Northern California Coast, their priorities often differ from inland areas.
One of Modoc County ranchers’ top concerns is the return of gray wolves. Ranchers in Modoc are particularly concerned about wolf attacks on livestock. Nearly all of the state’s gray wolves, an endangered species that’s been slowly recovering in California, are concentrated in the 1st District. Wolves have been linked to at least 46 livestock deaths through June this year.
Byrne said she’s skeptical of Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat from the 2nd Congressional District, who would likely represent Modoc County if Prop 50 passes.
“He doesn’t get what’s going on on the ground in rural areas at all,” Byrne said.
Huffman, who is not a farmer, acknowledged the concerns.
“I’ve got to take the time and make the effort to humanize myself, to show that I do care,” he said. “I'm not some caricature of an urban elite that knows nothing about rural America.”
Huffman said he’s eager to find common ground on the issue. Still, ranchers could have reason to be concerned. Huffman said delisting wolves is not a realistic solution. Instead, he supports non-lethal strategies to protect livestock.
Huffman currently represents some rural areas, including Del Norte and Trinity counties. He said he spends more time in those areas because they need more attention than urban areas, like Marin County.
Huffman, the ranking member on the House Natural Resources Committee, described himself as the opposite of LaMalfa. He said the district has had “a full-throated culture warrior for the past 13 years” and questioned what that’s achieved.
“I don't think it's been good for rural health care, for rural economic development,” he said. “They're watching their forests burn up and climate impacts ravage much of the country because many Republicans deny the science and the reality of climate change. I do not, so I'm going to look forward to that conversation.”
Chico and Santa Rosa: Aligned in politics, divided by distance
In the 1st District, Chico stands out as a bright blue dot in a sea of red. About 42% of registered voters in the city are Democrats, compared to 28% Republicans.
If Prop 50 passes, Chico would remain in the 1st District, but it would be severed from conservative areas like Redding. Instead, it would be grouped with Santa Rosa, a Democratic stronghold in the Bay Area.
The proposal has stirred mixed feelings among Chico residents.
“You might hate Trump, and I can't argue with you on that,” Chico resident Walt Stile said. “But you're really cutting off your nose to spite your face.”
He fears important Chico issues, such as flooding from the Sacramento River, would be ignored by voters in Santa Rosa.
“I don't think people in Santa Rosa even know where Chico is,” he said. “They probably think that's where the prison is.”
Stile also questioned whether Bay Area voters would support a congressional candidate from the Chico area, like LaMalfa or Audrey Denney, a Democrat who recently announced she is running for the 1st District congressional seat for a third time.
“By voting yes on 50, you lose all your local representation,” he said.
Stile isn’t alone in seeing a disconnect between Chico and Santa Rosa. Denise Katsikas, another Chico resident, said when she first thinks of Santa Rosa, she pictures fancy wineries and wealth — a contrast that shows up in the numbers, too. While both cities lean left, Chico’s poverty rate is nearly double that of Santa Rosa’s. About 18% of Chico’s population lives in poverty, compared to less than 10% of Santa Rosa’s, according to Data USA.
But for Katsikas, the divide between cities is just one piece of a much bigger problem.
“Whether you're working at McDonald's in Santa Rosa or Oroville, you're still struggling,” she said.
Katsikas calls Prop 50 an “emergency tactic,” meant to push back against what she views as a power grab by President Donald Trump. For her, the election isn’t about “red or blue,” but about the divide between wealth and poverty.
“I'm closer to being evicted from my home that's not paid off than I am to being a billionaire,” she said.
While many Chico residents see Santa Rosa as a different kind of place, some point out the similarities.
Rich Ober, chair of the Butte County Democratic Party, noted both have nearby universities and also deep ties to agriculture. He said farmers in both areas navigate similar challenges, from international trade to economic policies.
“It's a different map, it's a different district, but it still abides by those principles of geography and communities that are similar and have similar needs and similar concerns, a mix of rural and urban,” Ober said.
And when it comes to politics, voting patterns show Chico and Santa Rosa may be more alike than many realize.
Last election, Chico and Santa Rosa aligned more closely than Chico and Redding. A majority of voters in Chico and Santa Rosa voted for Kamala Harris as president, and agreed on seven out of 10 propositions on the ballot. Redding, on the other hand, favored Donald Trump as president and agreed with Chico on one fewer proposition.
Come November, Prop 50 will offer Chico and Santa Rosa voters a test to see how much common ground they really share — and whether they’re ready to share a district.
Voters must return ballots or have them postmarked by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4. The California secretary of state’s office has a list of polling and drop-off locations.
