Not exactly a pro-Matsui mailer, but maybe dark money AFGG will try to influence CA-07

An Elk Grove News reader shared a rather bland political mailer they received. The reader is a senior citizen registered in Elk Grove, Calif., with no party preference.

A quick review shows the mailer (see below) provides information for California voters. The mailer's copy and appearance make it seem like a public service-type announcement.

Story continued below

Who would object to a voter receiving information about voting deadlines?

But this mailer also includes subtle messaging. The mailer has seven individuals, all of whom are senior-citizen Baby Boomers.

Is this mailer targeting senior citizens, who, even if Democrats, are generally more conservative than Millennials or Gen Z Democrats? These no-party seniors and older Democrats will be a key get-out-the-vote group for Rep. Doris Matsui, an 82-year-old senior citizen in the fiercest battle of her political career.

The mailer is from a group called the American Foundation for Good Government (AFFG). Their website is curious - it has only one page, and it has a generic mission statement.

Their site has no other pages that reveal who runs it or where it is based. That, of course, prompted a deeper search for information on the oblique organization.

Substack's Politifi reports the following on AFGG:

The second nonprofit donor is newer—and more opaque. The American Foundation for Good Government was incorporated in Washington, D.C., on March 17, 2026, as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. Its incorporation documents list Graham Wilson, an attorney at Elias Law Group, as incorporator. The initial directors include Democratic fundraiser Fran Katz Watson and Jonathan Ducote, a partner at Democratic consulting firm Resonance Campaigns. The filing also identifies Amanda Bogorad as the organization’s beneficial owner.

According to that same report, AFGG donated $100,000 to Rep. Haley Stevens, the centrist Democrat who battled Dr. Abdul Al-Sayed for Michigan's Democratic Senate nomination. Al-Sayed, a progressive Democrat, squeaked out a narrow victory in the hard-fought battle for the open Senate seat that generated national attention.

Other reports from OpenSecrets.org and Influence Watch say much the same about AFGG and amplify connections to the Michigan Democratic Senate primary. This reporting validates that AFGG is tied to establishment Democrats.

So does this mean AFGG, a Democratic establishment dark money group, will play a role in the Matsu-Vang battle beyond this mailer as it did in the Michigan Democratic race?

Not necessarily.

Nonetheless, if you see another curious mailer arrive, check the return address box. If you see a new pro-Matsui attack on TV, pause your tube and look at the bottom of the screen.

Don't be surprised if you see American Foundation for Good Government.