Sacramento City Councilwoman Mai Vang has advanced to November’s general election for a California congressional seat, setting up a Democrat-on-Democrat clash against longtime incumbent Rep. Doris Matsui.The 81-year-old congresswoman has held the Sacramento-based seat since the death of her husband, former Rep. Bob Matsui, in 2005. Bob Matsui represented the district since the 1970s.Vang, 41, is one of a slew of Democrats across the nation mounting an explicitly generational challenge in the wake of Joe Biden’s presidency. “People are tired of leaders who answer to their biggest donors instead of the families they represent,” Vang said in a statement Tuesday after the race was called. “The squeeze on working families doesn’t check your party registration — and neither will I.”Matsui’s campaign pointed to a statement she released last week thanking voters.
Two other veteran House Democrats in California also made it past younger challengers to the November ballot. Rep. Brad Sherman, 72, a 15-term congressman representing part of Los Angeles, will face a Republican in the fall. Mike Thompson, 75, is seeking his 13th term in a Northern California district.
In San Francisco, a wealthy progressive challenger was unable to crack the top two slots to fill retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s seat. Instead state Sen. Scott Wiener and city Supervisor Connie Chan will face off to replace the former House speaker.
