(SACRAMENTO, CA) — Mai Vang, Sacramento City Councilmember who represents District 8, is running a campaign for California’s 7th Congressional District, and she intends to bring her local governing experience to the federal level. According to multiple news sources, Vang formally filed to run and announced her candidacy in September 2025, setting up a potential primary contest with long-time U.S. Congresswoman Doris Matsui.
(Photo of Mai Vang provide by her official Facebook page.)
According to her website, Mai Vang is the daughter of Hmong refugees, born and raised in Sacramento. Her parents fled war in Laos and resettled in California in search of safety and opportunity. As the oldest of 16 children, Mai stated she shouldered family responsibilities early, helping raise her siblings while pursuing her education. A proud product of public schools, she became the first in her family to attend college, earning degrees that would shape her commitment to public service. Driven by a deep sense of community, Mai returned home after college to serve the neighborhoods that raised her, laying the foundation for her career in advocacy and leadership.
When schools in her neighborhood faced closure, Mai recognized the devastating impact this would have on families. That is why she co-founded Hmong Innovating Politics— to mobilize parents and protect educational opportunities for children. Her advocacy extended to curriculum reform: Mai stated on her campaign site that she fought to make Ethnic Studies a high school graduation requirement, a goal realized during her tenure on the Sacramento City Unified School District board. In 2016, Mai championed and passed California’s first-ever Safe Haven Resolution, ensuring schools remained safe spaces for all students and families regardless of immigration status—a protection that continues today.
Vang’s campaign frames her run around issues like housing affordability, youth opportunity and public safety reform, but her City Council record shows a mix of agreement and tension with her council colleagues over budget, policing and service priorities.
On multiple budget proposals before the council, Vang has been one of the dissenting votes. In June 2025, she voted against the City of Sacramento’s $1.67 billion budget, joining one other councilmember in a 7–2 vote opposed because she and others said the plan did not do enough to address community needs and transparency, including concerns about cuts to vacant positions and fee increases.
Similarly, in previous fiscal years, Vang voted “no” on city budgets that balanced deficits by eliminating vacant positions and maintaining core service levels without larger shifts toward alternative services. In mid-2024 and 2023, published council meeting records show Vang and others voting against budget plans that largely preserved traditional public safety spending while rejecting proposals to shift millions from police vacancies to homelessness response services.
Those votes align with her public statements pushing the city to rethink how police funding and community services are balanced. According to multiple news sources including a KCRA report, in the 2023 budget debate, she joined Councilmembers Katie Valenzuela and Caity Maple in advocating roughly $6 million from police vacancies into the Department of Community Response for homeless and behavioral health calls — a proposal that the full council ultimately rejected.
While opposition to budget packages has defined some of her council record, Vang has also championed initiatives that won support and moved into policy. According to her council biography and accomplishments list, she helped establish the Sacramento Children’s Fund, securing dedicated youth service funding annually, and co-founded the city’s first Food Justice Task Force to expand access to healthy food in low-income neighborhoods. She also helped secure over $40 million in public investment for parks, trails and improvements in South Sacramento alongside affordable housing acreage acquisition.
Vang’s council tenure also included leadership roles: she was named Mayor Pro Tempore in early 2023 and served on key committees including Budget & Audit and Racial Equity, reflecting a degree of institutional influence in council decision-making structures.
Her voting record reflects both her policy priorities and the inherent trade-offs in local governance: she backed youth violence prevention funds and opposed certain budget packages she viewed as insufficiently responsive to community needs, yet she also participated in decisions that upheld public safety funding levels tied to a broad range of services debated at council meetings.
By Monday afternoon, Feb 16, neighbors voiced their opinion on Nextdoor about Mai Vang’s campaign run against Congresswoman Doris Matsui, and comments were a mix of both pro and against her campaign:
(Screenshot images of comments from Nextdoor post.)
David G., Golf Course Terrace Estates, said: “Matsui been great but Congress need younger minded help to get through this president’s idiotic and harmful policies.”
Karen K., Land Park, expressed: “Public safety must be the foundational priority of any elected official… Doris Matsui is definitely not my first choice, but she is the better of the two.”
Wayne E., Elmhurst, replied: “Matsui has done almost nothing in all her years in Congress except vote in lockstep with her party but a progressive even farther left, absolutely NOT.”
Meanwhile, Frank Layaoen, Hollywood Park, said: “I can see the youth in Ms. Vang, but I don’t want another progressive liberal to lock out the government. I want someone who has common sense to understand the issues and not just a party line flunky that we endured for a long time.”
Richard Ware, Pocket neighborhood, said: “Mai Vang is a disaster. She ran the school district into the ground when she was there, and when she moved to the City Council, she ran them into the ground as well.”
And, Chris Chandler, Lawrence Park, expressed: “Left wing politics have their place but progressive policies have made our state unaffordable and unlivable.”
Vang’s campaign messaging leans on these combined experiences — her votes, her initiative leadership, and her community advocacy — as she seeks to broaden her platform from city issues to federal policy debates. As the 2026 primary approaches, analysts expect her council record on budgets, housing and public safety to become focal points of contrast in her congressional bid.
OpGov.ai reports a snapshot of Mai Vang’s voting record (2023–2025)
Budget Decisions
* June 2023: Voted against Sacramento’s $1.5 billion city budget, joining Katie Valenzuela and Caity Maple. Supported a motion to reallocate $6 million from police vacancies to the Department of Community Response for homeless and behavioral health calls. Motion failed (6–3). Source: Sacramento News & Review.
* June 2025: Advocated for reducing police funding and increasing investments in youth programs and community safety initiatives. Opposed allocations expanding police overtime and staffing. Source ABC 10 and Sacramento Bee.
Housing & Development
* Backed the city’s purchase of 102 acres in South Sacramento for affordable housing and civic amenities. Supported measures to streamline permitting for affordable housing projects. Source Mai Vang website.
Public Safety & Equity
* Consistently voted for community-based safety programs and opposed motions prioritizing traditional policing over social services. Source Social Justice Sacramento.
* Championed protections for Measure L (Sacramento Children’s Fund) during budget negotiations, ensuring $10 million annually for youth services. Source Mai Vang website.
Language Access & Equity
* Supported ordinances requiring language access services citywide, including hiring a Language Access Coordinator. Source Mai Vang website.
Where to Find More??
For real-time council voting records, agendas, and meeting minutes, visit Sacramento’s official legislative portal.
Follow Mai Vang on Social Media:
Use #TeamMai on all platforms!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaiForUs
Twitter: https://x.com/MaiForUs
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maiforus/
OpGov.ai has reached out to Mai Vang’s campaign to request a formal interview and share more about her priorities and vision. We remain committed to delivering comprehensive, unbiased election coverage as the 2026 race unfolds. Visit Mai Vang’s campaign website: https://www.maiforus.com/.
Submit Sacramento County tips and story ideas to Sarah Denos at sarahkdenos@gmail.com.
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