The Abridged version:
- U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui leads challenger Mai Vang in the race for the U.S. House of Representatives’ 7th District after early results.
- Political observers see the race as part of a nationwide battle between established Democratic politicians and more progressive, sometimes younger challengers.
- Vang ran on helping working families and staying independent from rich donors; Matsui ran on her decades of experience and record bringing home federal funding.
U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui is leading the race to represent District 7 in the U.S. House of Representatives, early results show.
Matsui has received 57.7% of votes counted, while Mai Vang has received 42.3%, as of about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.
About 130,000 votes had been counted. It represents a notable lead in what was expected to be a close race.
“This race tested me in a way that felt really good,” Matsui said outside her election party at Sellands Neighborhood Cafe & Bar, before the early results came in.
This isn’t the toughest race she’s run, the representative said — that distinction is reserved for her first race to step into the seat her husband, U.S. Rep. Bob Matsui, vacated when he died.
Vang won’t comment on results until later this evening, her spokesman Jon Tran said.
District 7 includes southern Sacramento County, part of Yolo County and a small portion of Solano County.
Politics watchers are laser-focused on the race as one of several generational battles between established Democratic lawmakers and more progressive challengers happening in Congressional races across the country.
Vang and Matsui themselves have embraced that framing, with opposite conclusions: Vang has celebrated her run as representing “another choice on the ballot for the first time in 21 years,” while Matsui has said, “what we really need now is experienced leadership.”
A teacher and Sacramento City Council member representing South Sacramento, Vang has focused her campaign on helping working families, protecting immigrant communities from the Trump administration and pursuing policies independent from big-donor and billionaire influence, her campaign website shows.
Her endorsements include Service Employees International Union California and the Sacramento Democratic Socialists of America. As the votes came in Tuesday night, she said she was “nervously excited” and had expected the initial results to favor Matsui, but emphasized that not all votes have been counted.
Matsui is running on her decades of experience in Congress, and what her campaign website describes as a strong record of bringing significant federal funding for flood protection, healthcare projects, clean energy and more to District 7. The representative has served since 2005, when she was elected to the seat her husband, U.S. Rep. Bob Matsui, had held until his death.
Matsui’s endorsements include the California Democratic Party and Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The competition between Vang and Matsui has been brutal. At an August debate, Vang skewered Matsui over which campaign donations she’d accepted, among other topics, while pro-Matsui ads have accused Vang of frequent absences from her local government positions.
Matsui’s campaign also attacked Vang over her appearance on a livestream with controversial left-wing influencer Hasan Piker, who also canvassed for Vang. In response, Vang shot back that “going on someone’s show doesn’t mean adopting their views,” and that the appearance marked an opportunity to connect with young voters whom establishment Democrats have often ignored.
