Doris Matsui seeks reelection in California's 7th District

Rep. Doris Matsui, a Democrat who has represented the Sacramento region in Congress since 2005, is seeking reelection in California's redrawn 7th Congressional District. The Nov. 3, 2026, general election pits Matsui against Mai Vang, also a Democrat, according to BallotReady election data.

The redrawn district now includes Sacramento, Elk Grove, Galt, Lodi, Placerville and El Dorado, according to Matsui's campaign website.

Asked in our candidate questionnaire why she is running, Matsui said: "I'm proud of the work I've done to make healthcare affordable, reduce the cost of prescription medications, strengthen levees and the Folsom Dam, fix our highways, and grow jobs through clean energy innovation. I'm running for re-election so I can continue to deliver results for the people in this community."

Candidate information

Party: Democratic

Born: Sept. 25, 1944, at the Poston War Relocation Center internment camp in Poston, Arizona, according to her congressional biography. Her parents and grandparents were among the 120,000 Japanese Americans forced to leave their homes and businesses under President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 in 1942.

Family: "Married to Robert Matsui (who passed in 2005) with son, a daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren. In the Spring of 2020, remarried adding four children, their spouses, and six grandchildren to her family," Matsui said in our questionnaire.

Education: "Graduated from the University of California at Berkeley," Matsui said in our questionnaire.

Experience and public service

Matsui said in our questionnaire: "Member, U.S. House of Representatives. Senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Ranking Member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee and as a member of the Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee. Prior to Congress, served as the Deputy Assistant to the President in the White House Office of Public Liaison."

She succeeded her late husband, Robert Matsui, in a March 2005 special election with 68% of the vote, according to her congressional biography.

On the issues

Top priority — health care: "We need to fix healthcare by preserving choice of coverage, lower barriers to access, ensure that patients and consumers get the care they pay for, reduce the cost of healthcare premiums and prescription medications, fund the healthcare safety net for those who truly need it, and eliminate criminal fraud wherever we find it," Matsui said in our questionnaire.

Accomplishments: "I helped write and pass the Affordable Care Act … I helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act that reduced the cost of over 60 medications for Medicare patients. I also helped pass the CHIPS and Science Act that provides $52.7 billion to boost local microchip manufacturing and research," Matsui said in our questionnaire.

Affordability: "The first two things we need to do is end the war with Iran that has driven up the price of gas at the pump and repeal the tariffs that are a tax on American consumers," Matsui said in our questionnaire.

Energy and environment: "I've consistently led efforts to modernize and decarbonize our electric grid and support energy efficiency programs that save ratepayers money while also cutting emissions," Matsui said in our questionnaire.