Calif. Democrat calls Tuesday’s primary results ‘generational change’

Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang was triumphant Tuesday night after early election results put her in second place in her fight against veteran U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui. 

“This region and this country is ready for a generational change,” Vang said Tuesday, according to a video recorded by the Sacramento Bee. “You saw that reflected in the votes and I’m really confident that we’re going to make the top two.”

Matsui was in the lead Tuesday night with 31.7% of the vote, while Vang was in second place with 24.9%, according to the Secretary of State’s website. Republican college student Zachariah Wooden was in third place with 23.5%.

Matsui said in a statement Tuesday that she’s confident she can win in the general election.

“I’m confident that my record of delivering for this community and my vision for the future – more affordable lives, better health care, and holding Donald Trump accountable – will earn the trust of voters for another term in Congress,” Matsui said.

Vang, 40, is the most serious challenger against Matsui, 81, since the congresswoman was first elected 21 years ago. Matsui took over the congressional seat after her former husband died; together, the two Matsuis have held a California congressional seat for 47 years. The general election could be a brutal fight if both Democrats advance.

The race has become a bitter primary fight that reflects the generational divide in the Democrat party. The physical decline of party leaders while still in office, like former President Joe Biden and former Sen. Dianne Feinstein, has rattled Democrats, leading to calls for an end to the “gerontocracy.” 

Matsui has denied that she is facing physical or mental decline, and says her constituents are better represented by an experienced leader like her. However, the Sacramento Bee endorsed Vang over Matsui, calling for a “historic changing of the guard.” 

Progressive groups accused Matsui of encouraging independent committees to spend $100,000 supporting Wooden, a 24-year-old college student and Republican, in the hopes that it would deny Vang one of the top two positions in the primary. Matsui campaign strategist Roger Salazar rejected that allegation, according to Capital Public Radio.