100 Days to Go: Mai Vang Warns of Outside PAC Cash in CA-07 Runoff Against Rep. Doris Matsui

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With less than 100 days remaining until voting ends in California’s general election, Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang launched a digital fundraising push Sunday, warning supporters that independent expenditure groups and corporate PACs are preparing to pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into the 7th Congressional District to rescue incumbent Rep. Doris Matsui.

In a Sunday morning campaign email, Vang framed the 100-day clock as a critical operational deadline, citing the need to finalize field organizer rosters and lock in media advertising buys before rates surge across the Sacramento media market.

"Make no mistake: the corporate interests who watched us win the primary aren't rolling over," Vang wrote. "They saw people power beat them in June and now they're pooling hundreds of thousands of dollars to crush our momentum before November."

The warning follows Vang’s primary victory on June 2, where the progressive challenger edged out Matsui 30.8% to 29.1%—marking the first time in Matsui’s 21-year congressional tenure that she did not win a primary election outright.

Vang, who has built her platform on refusing corporate PAC contributions, warned that her grassroots fundraising must match the influx of independent expenditure (IE) money expected to back the veteran lawmaker.

While Vang used the 100-day milestone to rally her digital base and drive small-dollar donations, Matsui’s campaign issued no email outreach on Sunday. The contrasting postures underscore the dynamics of CA-07: a challenger working with high urgency to build a grassroots field machine versus an establishment incumbent relying on long-standing institutional support and name recognition.

Both candidates now face the challenge of winning over more than 44,000 voters who backed Republican Zachariah Wooden in June, as vote-by-mail ballots are set to reach district voters in early October.