Mai Vang for Congress Campaign Continues in Sacramento
By Ras H. Siddiqui
Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, a progressive Democrat, has thrown her hat in the ring for the US Congressional District 7 seat currently occupied by octogenarian Congresswoman Doris Matsui who is also a Democrat. The Matsui family has been representing the Sacramento region in Washington for over 45 years now as Robert Matsui was an area Congressman from 1979 to 2005, a seat which his wife Doris inherited and has won ten times already. So, it would be safe to assume that Matsui is a part of what has been called the “Democratic Establishment” and here she is being challenged by Mai Vang who is everything but an establishment figure.
There have been several events in support of Councilmember Vang’s congressional bid that we became aware of in the past months in the Sacramento area, including one at Southside Park Cohousing (some pictures included). Another was held on Friday March 27, 2026, at a local residence. It was an Iftar (breaking of the Ramadan fast) in which some of the local South Asian Muslim community participated in force. This writer was able to catch Mai at this event which will be the focus of this report.
One of sixteen children born into a Hmong refugee family, Sacramento (District 8) Councilmember Mai Vang is a Lecturer at CSU Sacramento and has taught at UC Davis too. Born in Sacramento around 40 years ago, she is half of Congresswoman Doris Matsui’s age. Vang is a graduate having attained degrees from the University of San Francisco (USF) and UCLA. She is at ease in many different surroundings and happens to be quite a dynamic speaker. She also has a very dedicated group of volunteers helping her, including Sada Ahmed and Katie Hymans, who both have a strong connection to our Sacramento community.
Now back to the event. After the breaking of the fast and prayers performed by Muslim guests, dinner followed. The group then settled down over dessert to listen to Sada’s words of welcome. As a member of the host family, she thanked everyone for joining this Iftar gathering. She also reminded us of the many places in the world (Gaza, Sudan, etc.) where people do not have enough food to break their fast with and that as Muslims, we must do what we can for them. She also called on the community to become politically active, alluding to Congress in which Councilmember Mai Vang, if elected, could have an influence. She indicated that our current congressional representative does not adequately advocate for us and that we need to vote for a change of leadership. That is why we need to support Mai Vang for Congress, by donating, voting, and spreading the word, she said.
Candidate Mai Vang started her short speech with Ramadan Mubarak. She first recognized and thanked Sada for taking an active role in supporting the local community. She also thanked Sada’s parents. Mai shared her Hmong family background and current District 8 City Council representation. She said that she is now running for Congress because we are living in troubling times in this country and we need fighters for working people in Washington. She elaborated on her Sacramento roots, daughter of immigrant refugees, and how the whole family struggled to make it in America just like other immigrant families have had to. She also shared what inspired her to run for public office and shared the milestones of that journey with us.
On her congressional bid Mai said that she does not take any PAC money and wants to represent the people and not large corporations and powerful interest groups. That also means that she has an uphill battle to fight because she is up against the democratic establishment and that Doris Matsui has been in office for 20 years. The only way to beat organized money is to have organized people, she said. Her campaign is having small family fundraisers like this one every week. She added that she wants to see America prosper and be fair to immigrants because she understands and has been raised in their struggle. She also said that she wants our tax dollars to be spent right here in the United States (on healthcare and childcare) and not on endless wars.
This writer also said a few words before a short Q&A session and a campaign member closed the event. Some closing thoughts are warranted here. Not just Congresswoman Doris Matsui but her late husband Robert deserve our respect for their many decades of representing the Sacramento area in Washington. But it is time that the old guard moves on and lets younger people in to replace them. The democratic establishment refused to budge and change their narrative during the 2024 election. Look where we are now?
