Longtime Incumbent Rep. Matsui to Face Progressive Challenger in November

SACRAMENTO—Primary results from June 2 for California’s 7th Congressional District revealed an intra-party generational challenge, with two Democratic Party candidates born 40 years apart earning the most votes. 

Incumbent Rep. Doris Matsui, 81, will run against Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, 41, after the two advanced through the state’s jungle primary system, which places the top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, on the November ballot. 

The Associated Press called the race on June 9, a week after the primaries.

Matsui, who has served in Congress since she succeeded her husband, Rep. Robert Matsui (D-Calif.), following his death in 2005, received 29.1 percent of the vote to Vang’s 30.9 percent. 

Other candidates in the field included Republicans Zachariah Wooden, 22.1 percent, and Ralph Nwobi, 15.2 percent.

California’s Congressional District 7 encompasses southern Sacramento County, including Elk Grove and the southern edges of the city of Sacramento, and sections of Yolo County. The map was heavily redrawn with the passage of Proposition 50 in 2025, and now includes the eastern Sierra communities of El Dorado and Placerville.

Voter registration in the district leans significantly Democratic, with Matsui winning reelection in 2024 with approximately 67 percent of the vote. 

The California Democratic Party, Gov. Gavin Newsom, and the majority of Vang’s colleagues on the Sacramento City Council endorsed Matsui, who outraised her opponent by more than 200 percent, raising nearly $1 million with the support of political action committees. 

While some critics are questioning the incumbent’s age, others are calling for a new voice for the community.

Vang, the first Hmong American elected to the city council, rejected corporate donations and ran on a campaign of Medicare for all, strengthened labor protections, and immigration reform with citizenship pathways. 

She said corporate influence is compromising political independence. 

Endorsements rolled in from labor groups and other organizations, including the Working Families Party, National Nurses United, and the local newspaper, The Sacramento Bee. 

Vang’s opponents criticized her for not reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at city council meetings—a decision she said was made as a response to perceived injustices.