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>\n
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>\n
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<\/a> on the California Secretary of State website. Approximately 95% of the total ballots<\/a> have been counted.<\/p>\n 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>\n Vang has been a Sacramento city councilmember since 2022. For a single day<\/a>, she was trailing in third place behind a 25-year-old Republican contender, but she got a boost this week.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, questions loomed as to whether other longtime members, specifically those who are octogenarians, would follow in her footsteps.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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<\/a> secure some of the more conservative and undecided voters in her district. The district turned slightly more Republican after Proposition 50<\/a> redrew California\u2019s congressional map. Beyond that, Matsui is an established Democrat who has expressed criticism<\/a> of the Trump administration, specifically on immigration and healthcare.<\/p>\n She also secured an endorsement from\u00a0Pelosi, support that has proven to benefit other candidates this election cycle. Pelosi helped boost San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan<\/a> to the general election along with state Sen. Scott Wiener, in the race to replace Pelosi in District 11.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Vang ran on a campaign that called for generational change in Congress. She has also focused on affordability and lowering costs for working families and has opposed federal policies under the Trump administration.<\/p>\n