U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui, left, speaks during a congressional candidate forum for CA District 7 at Coloma Center in Sacramento on Thursday, April 2, 2026, as candidates, from left, Zachariah Wooden, Ralph Nwobi and Mai Vang listen. HANNAH RUHOFF hruhoff@sacbee.com <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like the big money in politics,\u201d said Matsui, 81. \u201cI don\u2019t like Citizens United. I don\u2019t like what that caused, and I believe what we\u2019ve done here, especially in California with Prop. 50 means we really have an opportunity to change this. We can elect more people to Congress who understand how important it is to participate. I feel right now this is an important time to get behind something like this \u2026 I don\u2019t intend to put my hands behind my back and give up right now. I have funded many, many Democrats. Democrats, good Democrats who are fighting (President Donald) Trump Republicans and I will make sure they have the money to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vang said Matsui does not support a single-payer health plan like Medicare For All because she \u201ctakes money from big pharma and insurance companies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matsui said she is not against Medicare For All.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not averse to Medicare For All, but there are other pathways there, too, and I think we should examine them,\u201d Matsui said. \u201cWe are fighting this administration that keeps cutting it. We are working every step of the way to make sure we expand our health care. I\u2019m there. I love national health care. We are gonna get there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Voters listen during a congressional candidate forum for CA District 7 at Coloma Center in Sacramento on Thursday, April 2, 2026. HANNAH RUHOFF hruhoff@sacbee.com <\/p>\n
Vang said she wants to abolish ICE. \u201cWe should all be organizing to close the detention centers,\u201d Vang said. \u201cThis is not who we are so we need to abolish ICE.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matsui stopped short of saying she would abolish ICE, but said she and the other Democrats will not fund it until it is reformed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been on the front lines,\u201d Matsui said, adding she has visited the John Moss Federal Building in downtown Sacramento where immigration hearings are held several times in recent months. \u201cI will not fund ICE anymore. I voted against funding ICE. We are fighting that fight right now. We feel ICE has to be reformed or else we\u2019re not gonna fund it. That\u2019s where the Democrats stand … ICE is bad. ICE is wrong. They have to be reformed, and I will not vote for them until they reform.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mai Vang, right, speaks during a congressional candidate forum for CA District 7 at Coloma Center in Sacramento on Thursday, April 2, 2026, as candidates, from left, Doris Matsui, Zachariah Wooden and Ralph Nwobi listen. HANNAH RUHOFF hruhoff@sacbee.com \u201cIt\u2019s a \u2018hell no\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Both candidates denounced Trump and the Iran war.<\/p>\n
Vang said she doesn\u2019t want her younger brothers, who have served in the military, to be sent to an \u201cillegal war.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matsui said she will not vote for funding for the war.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve voted for every war resolution against this war and l\u2019ll continue to, but there\u2019s another way \u2014 when he (Trump) comes to us to want money for this war it\u2019s a \u2018hell no,\u2019 \u201d Matsui said.<\/p>\n
Enayat Nazhat reacts as U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui, right, speaks during a congressional candidate forum for CA District 7 at Coloma Center in Sacramento on Thursday, April 2, 2026. HANNAH RUHOFF hruhoff@sacbee.com <\/p>\n
Vang said Matsui takes funding from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and has not called the war in Gaza a genocide.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe congresswoman has not yet called this a genocide,\u201d Vang said. \u201cSo many politicians are bought and that\u2019s the reason I don\u2019t take any corporate PAC money, I don\u2019t take any AIPAC money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matsui did not directly address those accusations but did call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a \u201cwar criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have called Netanyahu a war criminal,\u201d Matsui said. \u201cWhat he\u2019s done to kill thousands of innocent civilians, cause destruction to families, a humanitarian crisis. I will not send any offensive dollars. He doesn\u2019t deserve it, not with his devastation. I have to say this though. Netanyahu does not represent the Israeli people. Just like Donald Trump doesn\u2019t represent the American people. We have to find a way out. Netanyahu has to be a part of this. I still believe in a two-state solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty and all council members aside from Karina Talamantes and Caity Maple endorsed Matsui over their colleague.<\/a><\/p>\n Democrats Enayat Nazhat and Robby Morin, and Republicans Zachariah Wooden and Ralph Nwobi, who are also running for the seat, also participated in the forum. In the most recent Federal Election Commission report,s none of these candidates had raised much money. Matsui\u2019s report showed her with more than $700,000 as of Dec. 31, 2025, and Vang reported raising almost $285,000. The event was organized by 10 different neighborhood associations and the Sacramento League of Women Voters.<\/p>\n The primary election will be held June 2, and the general election will be held Nov. 3.<\/p>\n This story was originally published April 2, 2026 at 8:24 PM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n Robby Morin, right, speaks during a congressional candidate forum for CA District 7 at Coloma Center in Sacramento on Thursday, April 2, 2026, as candidates, from left, Ralph Nwobi and Mai Vang listen. HANNAH RUHOFF hruhoff@sacbee.com <\/p>\n
![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Clift_Theresa.JPG\")