By admin 
U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, and Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang leveled some of their strongest criticism yet at a Thursday evening debate, clashing over their records and experience in the race for the Sacramento-area U.S. House seat.
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The candidate forum, held at Coloma Community Center in East Sacramento, reflected the fierce intraparty generational battle between the two Democrats. Matsui, who has served in Congress since 2005, leaned on her experience and cited a record of delivering resources to the region. Vang, a progressive member of the Sacramento City Council, continued her case for generational change and a focus on working families.
Matsui, 81, and Vang, 41, won the top two spots in the June primary and will face off in November for the newly drawn 7th Congressional District. The solidly blue seat encompasses most of Sacramento’s downtown core and stretchs from Lodi to Placerville.
In between their answers on the Gaza war, healthcare and immigration enforcement, both candidates launched a flurry of critiques to each other on Thursday. Vang, in nearly every response, attacked her opponent for a history of accepting corporate campaign donations which she said made Matsui and other establishment politicians beholden to corporations. Matsui fired back by depicting Vang as an inexperienced candidate who would struggle to work with others and make strides in Congress.
“The contrast between me and my opponent cannot be more stark,” Matsui said in her closing statements. “I am a workhorse. Not a showboat. I focus on solutions and not slogans.”
“Do we want business as usual, or do we want a new generation of leaders?” Vang said shortly after in her final remarks. “As a city council member, I am no stranger to taking on the establishment and delivering for working people.”
The sharpest critiques came during a portion of the debate when both candidates were able to ask each other questions.
In her first question, Matsui cited public records that alleged Vang had missed roughly half of the meeting for several local government bodies, including the Sacramento Regional Transit District and Sacramento Transportation Authority. Matsui’s second question focused on Vang’s known history of trying to decrease the city of Sacramento’s police budget in favor of other city services.
“Why do you think it’s more important to defund the police than to support funding for affordable housing services for homeless persons and climate action?” Matsui asked.
Vang responded by saying the “public safety system” is broken and needs to be a multi-tiered approach that involves nonprofits, the fire department, and parks and recreation.
“I have fought for my constituents, making sure that our city budget actually reflects our priorities,” Vang said.
Matsui then referenced a 102-acre Meadowview property in Vang’s district that remains empty, but has been a point of discussion for residents and city leaders since its $12.3 million purchase in 2022. She alleged that former Mayor Darrell Steinberg asked for help in communicating with the Department of Labor about the project.
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“I still don’t know what’s happening with 102 acres right now. … How long does a listening session have to be going on?” Matsui said, in reference to Vang’s series of community sessions to garner feedback from residents about the project.
“It’s really disappointing that you don’t understand how development actually works,” Vang fired back.
Vang’s questions were about Matsui accepting campaign donations from businesses involved with U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement as well as “leading fire and flood insurance companies” in the region. She alleged that Matsui had accepted $40,000 from ICE contractors and corporations this election cycle.
“How can our immigrant families trust you when your campaign is being supported by the very people, insurance and the companies that are actually profiting from the pain of our families through separation?” Vang asked.
Matsui’s response centered on her family’s history in a Japanese internment camp. When pressed by Vang about the donations, Matsui tried to frame the money as associated with her retirement accounts and then later said she was not aware of those campaign records, which garnered boos from the pro-Vang crowd.
“I think people who know me know that I’m not for sale at all,” Matsui said. “I’m not. I work for the people in the community, the working families, the working people, to make sure they have the life that they deserve.”
“You know more about things in my campaign record than anyone else does,” Matsui added, which led to laughter from the crowd. “I can’t believe it. I don’t even know what companies you’re talking about right now. Some of those companies also do other things.”
“I do think it’s really important to know who actually funds your campaign,” Vang responded.
Thursday’s event was the first general election debate between the two candidates. No other forum or debate has been scheduled thus far.
The 7th District includes El Dorado Hills, Placerville, Lodi, Linden, Galt, Elk Grove and several capital region neighborhoods including Campus Commons, Oak Park and south Sacramento. Proposition 50, a voter-approved initiative that redrew California’s congressional boundaries to favor Democrats, eliminated West Sacramento, Lemon Hill, Florin, East Sacramento and Isleton from the district.
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This story was originally published August 27, 2026 at 9:35 PM.