Vang Calls Matsui ‘Confused’ as She Says Congresswoman Rejected More Debates

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rep. Doris Matsui has declined invitations to a televised debate hosted by KCRA and a forum with The Sacramento Bee, according to her challenger, Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang.

In a news release this morning, Vang’s campaign claims Matsui has declined at least three debate or forum invitations during their race for California’s 7th Congressional District. The release did not provide the invitations or responses, and Matsui’s campaign has not provided its account for this story.

Vang accepted the KCRA and Bee invitations, her campaign said. “Our community members are the ones deciding this race, and they deserve to see us side-by-side and make up their own minds,” Vang said in the release.

The two Democrats have appeared together before. At a late-August debate in Sacramento’s Elmhurst neighborhood, they differed over health care, military spending and the value of Matsui’s experience in Congress.

Candidates, particularly incumbents, often limit debates when they see little advantage in giving a challenger another shared stage. Matsui’s reasons for declining the two invitations Vang cited are unknown.

Vang’s campaign also attacked Matsui’s performance at the earlier event, saying she appeared “visibly confused” while discussing her campaign contributions. In a race shaped partly by questions about how long members of Congress remain in office, the wording also invites voters to consider Matsui’s age.

The 81-year-old congresswoman has served since 2005; Vang is 40. Younger Democrats challenging longtime incumbents have made generational change a theme in races across the country.

“Twenty-one years in office should make delivering for her constituents easier, not harder,” Vang said.

The campaign’s release also criticized Matsui’s number of in-person town halls and said Vang would continue holding public events regardless of whether Matsui agrees to another debate.