Vang Accuses Rep. Matsui of Boosting Republican in California CA-07 Race

Progressive congressional challenger Mai Vang has leveled sharp accusations against long-time incumbent Rep. Doris Matsui, claiming the veteran lawmaker is manipulating California’s top two primary system to prop up a Republican candidate who is barely active on the campaign trail.

The allegations surface as the race heats up ahead of the state's June 2 top-two primary for California's 7th Congressional District. Under California rules, the top two vote-getters advance to the November general election regardless of political party.

Appearing Thursday on the independent news program Breaking Points, Vang accused Matsui, a fellow Democrat, of utilizing hidden website text to signal corporate super PACs to run advertisements for Republican candidate Zachariah Wooden. Federal Election Commission filings indicate Wooden has not raised any funds, and local observers report he has barely conducted a campaign.

Vang alleged that Matsui’s campaign website contains hidden or coded language, frequently called a "red box," advising outside groups that "voters need to see, read and see on the go" that Wooden is the strongest Republican in the primary. The strategy, known as "jungle primary game theory," is traditionally used by dominant incumbents to elevate a weak opposing-party candidate into the second-place spot, thereby knocking out a formidable intra-party challenger before November.

"Established politicians like Doris Matsui, who’s been in office for 21 years... would rather see a Republican in power than pass the torch to the next generation," Vang said during the interview, which has already garnered more than 64,000 views. "What you’re seeing... is basically directing her corporate donors and her supporters to run mailers, to increase name ID among the Republicans, and basically to turn out the vote for Republicans in hopes that she would knock me out in the June primaries."

Ms.Vang, who currently serves on the Sacramento City Council, pushed back heavily against institutional pressure to stay out of the congressional race. Vang noted that her background as a grassroots activist and the daughter of Hmong refugees makes her uniquely suited for the seat, even if it disrupts the status quo.

"There’s this unspoken rule. I am a local elected... but among local electeds, there’s this unspoken rule that you don’t do what Mai Vang is doing," Vang told Breaking Points. "You wait your turn and you don’t take on an incumbent, right? And I wasn't even waiting my turn."

Vang further emphasized her determination to bypass establishment norms, framing her run as an urgent response to local economic hardships.

"I don’t have the luxury of waiting on the sidelines while our democracy is on fire and our families are living in fear," Vang stated.

Ms. Matsui, who holds a massive fundraising advantage with more than $1.34 million collected compared to Vang's $600,000, maintains deep institutional support in the region. Most local Democratic elected officials, including Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty, have firmly lined up behind the incumbent. Matsui has also secured the formal endorsement of the California Democratic Party.

Vang’s progressive campaign has drawn sharp policy contrasts with Matsui, explicitly criticizing her for accepting corporate PAC funds and opposing structural changes to federal law enforcement and health care. Vang, who has pledged not to take corporate PAC money, explicitly called for the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the broadcast, accusing the agency of terrorizing minority and immigrant communities.

Based on advancing out of the primary, if successful in her bid to unseat Matsui, Vang would become the first Hmong-American elected to the United States Congress.