The Abridged version:
- After losing the race for a Sacramento-area seat in Congress, Mai Vang vowed to hold returning U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui “accountable every step of the way.”
- The Associated Press called the race Tuesday, with Matsui holding 53.3% of the vote against Vang.
- Vang is not ruling out another run for office, her campaign spokesman said.
After months of striving to upend the Sacramento region’s political status quo, Mai Vang’s campaign acknowledged her loss to U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui in the Congressional District 7 race.
“Fourteen months ago, we set out to show that a daughter of Hmong refugees from South Sacramento, with no corporate PAC money, could take on one of the most entrenched political operations in California,” Vang’s campaign said in a statement Wednesday.
“Doris told this district she delivers and we will hold her accountable every step of the way.”
The Associated Press called the race Tuesday, with Matsui holding 53.3% of votes counted and Vang with 46.7%.
Matsui led by about 15,000 votes. Both Matsui, a longtime U.S. House of Representatives member, and Vang, a Sacramento City Council member, are Democrats, though politics watchers and Vang’s supporters view her as more progressive.
“I don’t think we are conceding,” Vang campaign spokesman Jonathan Tran said Wednesday.
“I think it’s just an acknowledgement of the AP calling it.”
With 88% of votes counted, according to The Associated Press, political data expert Paul Mitchell said there is no viable path for Vang to recover.
“The hill that Vang would have to overcome at this point is too steep for her to catch back up,” he said Tuesday.
“That is several degrees outside the range of possibility.”
Up against decades in Congress
Despite her loss, Vang’s campaign represented a rare, serious challenge for a seat Matsui had won by wide margins for two decades.
Vang supporters packed the candidate’s election night parties, and showed out strongly at an August debate in which Vang successfully pushed Matsui on the incumbent’s campaign donations, investments and more.
Furthermore, Vang challenged Matsui despite having far less campaign cash. Vang raised about $1.8 million, according to Opensecrets, while Matsui raised $7.8 million.
Of that, Vang spent about $1.4 million, while Matsui spent about $6.1 million.
The progressive candidate’s strong effort could improve the outlook for similar future platforms.
Vang’s campaign focused on affordability for working families, attaining Medicare for All, reigning in artificial intelligence companies and data centers and abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The campaign says it also didn’t accept donations from corporate political action committees, or organizations that pool contributions to give to candidates.
Vang did not accept money from business PACs, according to Opensecrets.
Matsui acknowledged that Vang’s campaign put her to the test. “This race tested me in a way that felt really good,” she told reporters on Election Day.
In Matsui’s view, voters chose her based on her long record.
“The voters of this new district chose the steady solutions I’ve delivered throughout my service as their representative. I promise to keep delivering for them,” her campaign said Tuesday.
Another run in sight?
Those who poured their hope and effort into Vang’s campaign may be wondering if they’ll see her run for office again.
Vang isn’t ruling it out, Tran said Wednesday.
“Mai is going to take a bit to process, and then keep her options open to see how she can best serve,” he said.
Supporters reacting to her loss Tuesday expressed enthusiasm for supporting her again.
“This region can be very complacent,” Vang supporter Miguel Cordova told Abridged by PBS KVIE Wednesday.
“We are a government town that sees compliance as the way of life. But it is starting to conflict with folks who do the everyday work that allows for success.”
Cordova hopes Vang will “keep inspiring others to engage,” he said.
