{"id":615,"date":"2026-06-11T23:04:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T23:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=615"},"modified":"2026-06-11T23:04:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T23:04:49","slug":"longtime-california-democrat-endorsed-by-pelosi-falls-behind-younger-challenger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=615","title":{"rendered":"Longtime California Democrat endorsed by Pelosi falls behind younger challenger"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rep. Doris\u00a0Matsui, the longtime California congresswoman who has held a Sacramento-area seat for over 20 years, faces a younger challenger in what\u2019s expected to be a competitive intraparty race.<\/p>

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Matsui is expected to face off against Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, a fellow Democrat who bumped ahead of\u00a0Matsui as more votes were counted this week. As of Thursday afternoon, Vang had leapfrogged Matsui by a percentage point.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

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Vang is now in first with 30.8% of the district\u2019s electorate, and\u00a0Mastui is in second with 29.1%, according to recent vote counts on the California Secretary of State website. Approximately 95% of the total ballots have been counted.<\/p><\/div>

Matsui\u2019s\u00a0husband was elected to serve the region as a congressman and continued until his death.\u00a0Matsui then won his seat in a special election in 2005. The current Congressional District 7 includes the city of Sacramento as well as parts of El Dorado and San\u00a0Joaquin counties.<\/p><\/div>

Vang has been a Sacramento city councilmember since 2022. For a single day, she was trailing in third place behind a 25-year-old Republican contender, but she got a boost this week.<\/p><\/div>

The fact that Vang surpassed Matsui by 3,000 votes could signal the voters\u2019 support in the district for a new face, although the margins still remain very close. Still, it portends a highly competitive election, given it will be a Democrat-on-Democrat race, and as a growing movement to bring in a new generation of leaders has taken hold. After House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi announced her retirement, questions loomed as to whether other longtime members, specifically those who are octogenarians, would follow in her footsteps.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

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Matsui, who is 81, remained in office, and she still has a few things working in her favor. Not only is she the incumbent, which oftentimes serves as an advantage for candidates, but her moderate-leaning politics could help her secure some of the more conservative and undecided voters in her district. The district turned slightly more Republican after Proposition 50 redrew California\u2019s congressional map. Beyond that, Matsui is an established Democrat who has expressed criticism of the Trump administration, specifically on immigration and healthcare.<\/p>

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