Vang releases statement on AP projection of Matsui Victory
The Vang campaign stops short of issuing concession statement
Ed. note: This story first appeared earlier today on our sister site Elk Grove News. The story is being posted here as it first appeared, however, the headline has been changed.
The Vang campaign said they acknowledged the AP projecting Matsui's victory, but would not issue a concession statement until "every vote is counted." The campaign is awaiting updates from Sacramento County where the gap is expected to narrow.
The Associated Press called California's 7th Congressional District race for Doris Matsui yesterday. This morning, Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang had issued the closest thing to a concession her campaign was willing to offer.
Vang thanked her volunteers and supporters, never congratulated Matsui and gave the winner a preview of what the next two years might sound like.
“Doris told this district she delivers and we will hold her accountable every step of the way,” Vang said.
She closed with a line worth remembering when Sacramento Democrats start jockeying for 2028. “We are not going anywhere. For the movement we've built, this is only the beginning.”
Matsui, for her part, left Vang’s name out of her victory statement as well. She described the result as a mandate for the kind of steady leadership she had offered throughout her career.
The omission had the chill of a campaign that ended with plenty of hard feelings and has the effect of splintering Sacramento area Democrats. Vang’s response suggests she intends to spend the next two years testing that mandate.
There’s a Sacramento precedent for coming back two years later. Democrat Ami Bera lost to Republican Rep. Dan Lungren in the old 3rd District in 2010, then beat him 51.7% to 48.3% in the redrawn 7th District in 2012.
Redistricting helped change the terrain for Bera. Vang’s opening could come from a different source.
If Matsui runs again, Vang has already put her on notice. If Matsui retires, Vang has staked out a claim before other Democrats eyeing the seat have had to say a word. Matsui’s plans remain an open question, and Vang has every reason to get moving while they are.
Vang’s campaign says it was outspent 8 to 1. Matsui put nearly $7 million of her vast personal fortune into the race, and Vang used her statement to take aim at the corporate PAC support behind the incumbent.
She also renewed her calls for Medicare for All and an end to deportations and family separations. Put those pieces together and you can hear the argument Vang is preparing for 2028.
Sacramento’s progressive Democrats have their own agenda, and they’re willing to fight the neoliberal wing of their own party to advance it.
If Matsui steps aside, the next establishment Democrat may inherit her endorsements. Vang is betting those endorsements will give her something to run against.
