California Democrats endorse Rep. Doris Matsui

Robin Epley, The Sacramento Bee on Feb 22, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Sacramento-area Rep. Doris Matsui won the California Democratic Party endorsement Saturday evening with 67% of the vote, exceeding the necessary 60% a candidate must earn for the endorsement to be placed on the party’s consent calendar.

However, Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, Matsui’s opponent, is challenging the results. Vang won just 29% of the delegates vote, a drop from the pre-endorsing conference results where she won nearly 34%, initially enough to keep Matsui below the 60% threshold.

“The party’s complicated, Byzantine rules are that you don’t win the endorsement at 60%, but it sends you to the consent calendar, which is kind of a de facto vote,” said Andres Ramos, a delegate at the convention and Chair of the Sacramento County Democrats.

Ramos said that in order to mount a successful challenge, Vang needed either 20 delegates from the 7th Congressional District to sign a petition within an hour of the final tally, or at least two members from the Pre-Primary Endorsement Review Committee, also known as PERC. Once a challenge is submitted, party officers review for validity. If it’s accepted, the PERC members will meet Sunday morning to accept or deny the challenge. If it’s accepted, it will go to all state delegates for a floor vote.

“You have to argue it’s not in the best interest of the party,” Ramos said.

Matsui has been the Sacramento-area representative for the past 20 years. Vang is the first elected Democrat to challenge the incumbent, and politically is to Matsui’s left.

Delegates voted Saturday night at the convention, which is being held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Delegates and candidates will take to the convention hall again Sunday for the ratification of endorsements.

Matsui has been endorsed by leading Democrats such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla. She was also endorsed by a majority of the Sacramento City Council, including Mayor Kevin McCarty.

The race between the two Democrats is a generational clash between an 81-year-old incumbent and her 40-year-old challenger.

If Vang’s challenge is accepted, a floor caucus for the 7th Congressional District must be held Sunday to decide who the party will endorse.

Update: Sunday, 10:28 a.m.

The party’s Pre-Primary Endorsement Review Committee met Sunday morning and upheld the delegates decision to endorse Matsui in California’s 7th District.

“The ruling today at the committee reaffirmed that the wealthy and connected can break their own rules to maintain the status quo,” Vang wrote in a text. “Our campaign was never going to be won or lost inside a convention hall. It’s going to be won at doorsteps across this district — and that’s exactly where we’re headed.”

Matsui’s endorsement was placed on the party’s consent calendar and was duly adopted along with other Sacramento-area candidates, including local assemblymembers Maggy Krell and Stephanie Nguyen, and state senator Angelique Ashby.

_____