Now, reflecting on the campaign, Wooden said both candidates used him for \u201cpolitical effect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat had more to do with Matsui and Vang\u2019s inter-conflict than anything having to do with me,\u201d Wooden told The Sacramento Bee.<\/p>\n
Vang and Matsui ultimately advanced to the November election<\/a>. Wooden finished third, with about 21.9% of the votes, though he believes the results showed there is a \u201cstrong demand for alternatives.\u201d<\/p>\n Without that choice this year, Wooden said many Republicans, including himself, will not vote in the general election.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have anybody that I\u2019m planning on voting for,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Wooden grew up in a military family that frequently moved around the country before settling in Woodbridge, a small community northwest of Lodi, in 2020.<\/p>\n His passion for politics began at a young age and stemmed from his father who served in the Army and imparted values about duty and service. He recalled overhearing his father listen to conservative talk radio hosts like Glenn Back and Larry Elder.<\/p>\n Now a Sacramento State political science student, Wooden said he hopes to eventually work in housing policy.<\/p>\n Wooden decided to run for Congress after Proposition 50 redrew California\u2019s congressional districts, moving Woodbridge and much of San Joaquin County from the 9th Congressional District into the 7th.<\/p>\n Under the new lines, the 7th district encompasses parts of El Dorado Hills and Placerville, Lodi, Galt, Elk Grove, south Sacramento and the city\u2019s downtown core<\/p>\n \u201cIf you want to see the future be a better one, then you have to act in that respect, regardless of what stigma exists about being a certain age,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He said his campaign focused on issues he believes appeal across party lines, including streamlining housing and infrastructure projects, combating human trafficking and drug smuggling, and reducing government fraud.<\/p>\n \u201cRunning as a Republican doesn\u2019t have to be a negative thing in California,\u201d Wooden said.<\/p>\n Wooden said he first learned he had been featured on Matsui\u2019s campaign website after seeing posts about it on X, formerly Twitter.<\/p>\n The page, which has since been removed, described Wooden as a Republican candidate with a \u201crecord of serving the community\u201d who supported advancing President Donald Trump\u2019s policies. It also highlighted his endorsements from local Republican groups and his support for partnerships between local law enforcement and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n \u201cRepublican and Republican-leaning (no party preference) likely primary voters need to see, read and see on the go that Zachariah Wooden is the strongest Republican in the June 2 primary,\u201d the website stated.<\/p>\n In response to questions from The Sacramento Bee at the time, a Matsui campaign spokesperson said the website information was to contrast Matsui with the \u201cthreat\u201d posed by MAGA Republicans like Wooden.<\/p>\n Vang quickly criticized the move, accusing Matsui of \u201copenly working to boost a MAGA Republican\u201d instead of taking on her Democratic challenger. Weeks later, Vang also alleged Matsui had directed a super PAC<\/a> to spend $119,000 on digital ads<\/a> boosting Wooden.<\/p>\n The Matsui campaign fired back, pointing to out-of-state political action committee spending on Vang\u2019s behalf. In a second statement last month, the campaign again associated Wooden with Trump.<\/p>\n \u201c(Matsui) is focused on what matters: Winning back the House majority and holding Trump and his allies accountable,\u201d said Matsui campaign strategist Roger Salazar.<\/p>\n Though he is a lifelong Republican and voted for Trump in 2024, Wooden said Matsui\u2019s characterization was misleading, particularly that he was a \u201cthreat.\u201d He also said he did not receive any direct campaign fundraising from Matsui or her allies.<\/p>\n The latest filings from the Federal Commission Website show Wooden reported raising no money this year. A progressive independent expenditure called The Rising Tide Collective spent $200,000<\/a> to fight Wooden\u2019s congressional bid.<\/p>\n \u201cI have yet to find someone who has come across me and immediately is like \u2018yeah that\u2019s a MAGA Republican\u2019…. It was certainly exaggerated, obviously, for political effect,\u201d Wooden said.<\/p>\n Marissa Forte, president of the Young Republicans of Greater Sacramento, in a statement on Tuesday thanked Matsui for what she called free \u201cadvertisements\u201d for Wooden during the primary election campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cThose ads will build on our further outreach to the Republicans in the district to get them to vote in later elections and turn the district red,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n With no option for Republicans \u2018people just don\u2019t vote\u2019<\/p>\n Wooden remained close to Vang in the results until the Friday of primary election week when she surged past him.<\/p>\n Her lead only grew in the following weeks, and she is now ahead of all the candidates with about 31.2% of the vote, as of the latest California Secretary of State numbers. Matsui has secured 29.1% of the votes.<\/p>\n Wooden, who remained uncommitted to running again in 2028, said neither candidate will get his vote in November. He predicts many Republican voters, who are dissatisfied with the two options, will do the same. More than 75,000 people voted for Wooden or other Republican candidate, Ralph Nwobi.<\/p>\n \u201cThe dynamic is going to be interesting,\u201d Wooden said. \u201cIt\u2019s possible that many people just don\u2019t vote in this race.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 5:00 PM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui, left, speaks during a congressional candidate forum for the 7th Congressional District at Coloma Center in Sacramento on April 2 as candidates, from left, Zachariah Wooden, Ralph Nwobi and Mai Vang listen. HANNAH RUHOFF hruhoff@sacbee.com \u2018Running as a Republican doesn\u2019t have to be a negative\u2019<\/p>\n
![\"Zachariah](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SAC_405_LES_260702_ZachariahWooden.JPG\" "\\"SAC_405_LES_260702_ZachariahWooden.JPG\\"")
Zachariah Wooden, a Republican candidate who lost the primary election for California\u2019s Congressional District 7 seat, poses for a portrait in Woodbridge earlier this month. LIBBY SIMPSON libby.simpson@sacbee.com \u2018For political effect\u2019<\/p>\n