Biography

Mai Vang is a Sacramento City Councilmember, ethnic studies professor, public health advocate, and community organizer whose life and career have been shaped by the Hmong-American experience. She earned a BA in biology and sociology from the University of San Francisco, and dual master's degrees in public health and Asian American studies from UCLA. She teaches ethnic studies at California State University, Sacramento.

Vang is the founder of Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP), an organization dedicated to increasing Hmong political participation and leadership across the United States. She was first elected to the Sacramento City Council in 2020, representing District 8 — the first Hmong woman elected to the Sacramento City Council. She was reelected in 2024.

She launched her campaign for Congress in 2025 to challenge 20-year incumbent Rep. Doris Matsui in California's 7th Congressional District, which covers Sacramento. Vang was endorsed by Justice Democrats, the Working Families Party, and Leaders We Deserve, and ran on a platform of Medicare for All, taxing the billionaire class, and making life more affordable for Sacramento's working families.

In California's top-two primary on June 2, 2026, Vang led the field with 31% of the vote to Matsui's 29% — an astonishing result for a first-time congressional candidate against a 20-year incumbent. The two will face each other in the November general election in what has become one of the most-watched intraparty races of the cycle.

2026 House Campaign

Vang's first-place finish in the June 2 primary was a stunning repudiation of Matsui's two decades in office. Running against a 20-year incumbent with far more name recognition and institutional support, Vang built a grassroots coalition rooted in Sacramento's working-class communities, immigrant families, and young voters frustrated with the status quo.

The race is now a head-to-head between Vang and Matsui in the November general — an intraparty contest that will test whether progressive outsider politics can prevail in a Sacramento district that has long been Matsui's safe territory. Justice Democrats, the Working Families Party, and Leaders We Deserve are all investing in the race.

Vang has said: 'I've spent my life fighting for the people the establishment ignores. I've turned down pay raises and stood up to special interests because my only boss is you, not the billionaires and corporations.' Her platform centers on Medicare for All, taxing the wealthy, protecting immigrant communities, and the Green New Deal.

Medicare for All
Tax the billionaires
Green New Deal
Immigrant rights
Affordable housing
Free public college

In the press