BREAKING, John:
Today, Justice Democrats is proud to announce our TENTH endorsement of the 2026 election cycle: Mai Vang in California’s 7th congressional district!
Mai is a Sacramento City Councilmember and a proven progressive champion who’s running to put working families above corporate interests, to deliver housing you can afford and healthcare you can count on, and keep communities safe from ICE’s terror.
She’s taking on a corporate-backed incumbent who’s been in power for 20 years — it’s time for a change in leadership. Help Mai win by making a grassroots donation directly to her campaign now!
Mai is the daughter of Hmong refugees who fled war in Laos to settle in Sacramento, where Mai was born and raised as the eldest of 16 children. She’s a proud product of local public schools and was the first in her family to attend college.
Before she was elected to office, Mai worked as a community organizer to improve health and educational outcomes for children and families in south Sacramento. Under the first Trump administration, she championed and passed the first-ever Safe Haven Resolution, ensuring that California schools remained a place of safety and protection for all students and families, regardless of immigration status.
In 2020, Mai was elected to represent Sacramento’s Eighth City Council District. Under her leadership:
Incumbent Rep. Matsui was first elected to Congress in 2005, after succeeding her late husband, who held the seat since 1979. The Matsui family has represented this district for nearly 50 years, but working families still cannot afford housing or healthcare. They’re waking up to realize that seniority without urgency is not enough to defend them against the Trump administration.
While Mai is refusing corporate PAC money to remain accountable to the people of the district, Rep. Matsui continues to cash hundreds of thousands of checks from corporate PACs.
Mai has also been an outspoken critic of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, drafting and pushing through a ceasefire resolution as a City Councilmember, while her opponent has been backed and bought by AIPAC. During her time in Washington, Matsui has voted to send billions of dollars to ICE, tripling its budget since entering Congress.
Mai isn't hiding behind corporate donors and polite statements—she's fighting for her community. That's the kind of leadership that can help rebuild a Democratic Party that actually fights for working people in the face of Trump’s fascism.
In solidarity,
Alexandra Rojas
Executive Director
