California’s 7th Congressional District once largely encompassed the city of Sacramento and southern parts of the county.
Newly redrawn under Prop. 50, it now looks a lot different, stretching from the Central Valley to Elk Grove and Sacramento, up to El Dorado Hills and Placerville.
The candidates running to represent the district are both Democrats. 10-term incumbent Rep. Doris Matsui and current Sacramento City Councilmember in District 8 Mai Vang.
Insight host Vicki Gonzalez sat down with Vang to discuss how she would represent such a varied region if elected.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
You were born and raised in Sacramento, how have your life experiences shaped your approach to elected office?
I was born and raised in South Sacramento. I am the proud daughter of Hmong refugees. I am a product of systems of good governance. I grew up on food stamps, on Medicaid and had it not been for these critical safety net programs, I probably would not be here today.
So my lived experience does shape the ways in which I move. Especially in this moment, why I’m in this fight [is] because I know that so many of these critical programs are at risk under this federal administration and we need leaders who understand the day-to-day struggles of our working families. And this moment requires leaders who can meet the moment, who understand the struggles of our working families and that’s the reason why I’m in this race.
How would you describe Congresswoman Matsui’s impact on Sacramentans?
Well, I would say first of all, I’m grateful for her years of service. Being a public servant, it is a sacrifice. But what I will say also is that I really do believe as a millennial that establishment politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, who are bought by corporations, created the conditions for what we have today. And this is one reason why, as a congressional candidate, I don’t take any corporate PAC money.
I think that when elected officials who are in the halls of Congress are bought by big corporations, they’re not going to move with a sense of urgency on bold transformation. And that’s what we need right now in this country.
This district once largely included Sacramento. Now, it includes areas like Placerville, El Dorado Hills and Lodi. Why are you the right person to represent these constituents?
You know, when I talk to voters in El Dorado, Galt and Lodi and Elk Grove and Sacramento, I hear the same issues. They want to be able to put food on the table. They want to make sure that they [can] pay their bills.
I do believe that we need elected leaders in the halls of Congress that understand what it means to actually be part of the working families and struggling, right? I am married to a son of Mexican immigrants who works 12-hour shifts in the auto industry, still paying my college student debt. There’s so many working families that are choosing between putting food on the table or delaying medical care. The issues that I’ve been hearing across this region is that they want to make sure that their families are housed.
They want to make sure that they have access to health care. They want to make sure that there’s child care. You can talk to voters in Lodi, Galt, El Dorado, Sacramento, these are issues that are facing all of our working families.
The risk of wildfires is very real in the district that you would represent if elected. What experience do you have with forest management and wildfire mitigation?
Well, as a daughter of a South Sacramento, I’m no stranger to the environmental harms and the climate crisis impacting our region. When I’m talking to voters in El Dorado, I think we have to do more. One, to you know, to have fire mitigation, to have more forest management.
You know, this is a climate issue and it’s incredibly important and impacts all of us. What happens in El Dorado, impacts Sacramento and Elk Grove. And I’m committed to working with our residents in El Dorado and my colleagues across the aisle to make sure that we address the needs in El Dorado.
How would you work with the Trump administration if elected? Is there any common ground between you and the Trump administration or Republicans in Congress?
Well, let me just say this, we currently are under an authoritarian administration. In terms of this presidency, he has caused incredible harm to our communities here in our region and across our country. But what I will say, in my conversations with Republicans, whether you’re in Elk Grove, El Dorado and Lodi, is that they are also incredibly frustrated with the president as well.
President Trump ran on the agenda of affordability and he actually has made our lives worse. And if you really want to address affordability, we have to fundamentally change our system. And voters that I speak to, whether you’re Republican or Democrat, believe that it is time for change, changing a new system and being bold about it.
Matsui is a senior Congressmember and that comes with pivotal committee assignments that benefit the region. If elected, you would become a freshman representative.
How will you work to deliver for constituents if you don’t have the same depth of relationships and history that she has?
Let me just start off by saying that, if seniority would have saved us, we wouldn’t be here today. And so many of our working families are struggling in this moment. I also understand that the status quo, this system is set up on seniority and oftentimes we may have to question and challenge that system.
Like, why is seniority based on how much money you can raise for the Democratic Party? Why can’t it be based on your expertise and your lived experience? And so I think it’s important to ask those questions. But if we’re talking about seniority, the sooner we can pass down the torch the sooner this region can begin to build seniority and I think that’s incredibly important.
You and your opponent have taken part in debates and forums leading up to election day. In one, Representative Matsui criticized you for missing local government meetings and votes. How do you respond to those criticisms?
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to basically let you know that these are misleading ads. If we’re talking about showing up, I have held more community town halls, more events, more office hours in my first term as a city councilwoman compared to the congresswoman’s 22 years in office. I show up for my community. I work incredibly hard. And the negative of ads are all funded by corporate PACs.
And the reason why they’re going negative is because they’re behind in the polls and they know that. And so my record speaks for itself. I’m incredibly proud of the work that I’ve done for this community and the voters will see right through that. That corporate PACs are spending so much money. During the primaries we were outspent 3 to 1. We’re anticipating that we’re going to be probably outspent 5 to 1.
We always knew that we were never going to be able to outspend the incumbent, who is you know part of the establishment. But what we do have is the people and this region is excited and they’re ready for change.
If you’re elected, what would be your first priority in office?
Well, my first priority is making sure I’m working with my colleagues to restore all of the cuts that have harmed our working families. And then there’s also several bills that I think [are] incredibly important. What I’ve heard from the voters across this region is really a mandate making sure that we have Medicare for All, that we’re getting money out of politics, abolishing Super PACs, and really ending these endless wars. You know, we have money for all these wars, but not enough to invest in systems of care. And so that’s a priority for me.
And a movement of new electeds are coming into the halls of Congress. I always have shared that this race is more than just one congressional seat. It is truly about the future of this country. And this November in four weeks voters will have the option of choosing between two visions. One by an established politician who is incredibly out of touch from working families and our vision for a new generation of leaders that’s ready for a transformative and bold change.