California’s 7th District House Race: 2026 Winner

Incumbent Rep. Doris Matsui, 81, faces the toughest reelection fight of her 21-year House tenure from progressive Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, 41, in California's redrawn 7th Congressional District. Vang narrowly led the June primary with about 31.2% of the vote to Matsui's 29.1%, edging out Republican Zachariah Wooden for the second runoff spot in the solidly Democratic seat.

Redrawn under Proposition 50, the district now stretches from El Dorado Hills and Placerville south to Lodi and Linden, absorbing more GOP-leaning El Dorado County suburbs while losing West Sacramento and other areas. Matsui, who succeeded her late husband Robert in the seat, has secured backing from Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Alex Padilla and Nancy Pelosi, and holds a large fundraising and cash-on-hand advantage. Vang, a Hmong refugees' daughter and council progressive known for shifting police funding toward youth and homeless services, has built her campaign on Medicare-For-All, affordable housing and rejecting corporate PAC money, drawing support from outside progressive groups.

Several California congressional primaries pit establishment Democrats against insurgent challengers, a dynamic that could complicate Hakeem Jeffries' hold on House Democratic leadership if he seeks the speakership in a future majority. Under California's top-two primary system, some races feature Democrat-vs-Democrat matchups between incumbents and younger, further-left or anti-establishment rivals.

Rep. Mike Thompson faces venture capitalist Eric Jones, who says he wouldn't commit to backing Jeffries as speaker. Rep. Doris Matsui, who trailed in the June primary, faces progressive Sacramento Councilmember Mai Vang, who has said she won't support Jeffries. In the race to succeed Nancy Pelosi, state Sen. Scott Wiener backs Jeffries while rival Connie Chan says any speaker candidate must "earn" her vote. Rep. Aisha Wahab, who already defied party leadership once, faces Melissa Hernandez in a rematch. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, under a House Ethics Committee investigation he denies, faces progressive challenger Angela Gonzales-Torres. Many challengers are aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, signaling a potential bloc of leadership skeptics if elected.

Rep. Doris Matsui's reelection campaign has released a TV ad attacking Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang's attendance record on local government boards, with local officials declaring Vang should be "fired, not promoted" in a pointed reference to her bid to unseat Matsui in California's 7th Congressional District.

The ad cites Vang missing roughly half the meetings of the Sacramento Regional Transit District and Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District boards in recent years, and claims she was replaced on the Sacramento Transportation Authority after four consecutive absences. Vang's team confirms she remains on that board after a later appointment, and supporters call the ad misleading, noting council members are routinely assigned to numerous boards and that absences are common and coordinated to preserve quorum. Vang, 41, is running as a generational, progressive challenger against Matsui, 82, who has held the seat since 2005. The exchange marks one of the most personal attacks yet in a race already defined by sharp contrasts between the two Democrats.

Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) faces progressive Democrat Randy Villegas in California's 22nd Congressional District, one of the most closely watched House races in the country and a potential factor in the battle for control of Congress. Valadao has won the Central Valley swing district in six of the last seven elections despite a Democratic voter registration edge, but faces added pressure this cycle after Proposition 50 redistricting slightly increased the district's Democratic lean. He has also drawn criticism for his deciding vote on H.R. 1, a federal policy bill expected to strip healthcare coverage from millions, and for his ties to President Trump.

Villegas, a college professor and school board trustee backed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, defeated moderate Democrat Jasmeet Bains in the primary. He rejects corporate PAC money and campaigns on Medicare for All and affordability issues. Valadao holds a larger overall fundraising and cash advantage, though Villegas has out-raised him in recent filing periods. Analysts are split, with Inside Elections rating the seat "tilt Republican" and Sabato's Crystal Ball calling it "leans Democratic."

A new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, finds Trump's approval among California Republicans has fallen to 76%, down from 83% last year, with only 44% saying they "strongly" support his performance, down from 57% in August 2025. Pollster Mark DiCamillo said the softer numbers could reduce Republican turnout in the state's few competitive congressional races, while UC Berkeley's G. Cristina Mora suggested Trump's efforts to nationalize the midterms could instead galvanize Democratic voters.

The decline comes as California's redrawn congressional map, approved by voters last year at Gov. Gavin Newsom's urging, leaves Republicans with just four safe seats out of 52. Cook Political Report rates only one true toss-up: the 22nd District held by Rep. David Valadao, who faces progressive Democrat Randy Villegas. Two other GOP-held or contested seats, the 48th and 13th Districts, lean Democratic. The poll also found 70% of California voters disapprove of Trump's Iran policy and believe his immigration approach hurts the state's economy, including roughly one in five Republicans on each measure.

A Los Angeles-area state Senate race between labor-backed West Hollywood City Councilmember John Erickson and business-supported media consultant Brian Goldsmith has become California's most expensive state Senate general election contest this cycle, driven by heavy outside spending. The district, covering Malibu, Santa Monica, the Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, carries a 12-year term limit as both seek to succeed termed-out Sen. Ben Allen.

Business groups have targeted Erickson with attack spending, while tech-linked donors and Goldsmith's own personal funds have boosted his campaign; labor groups opposing Goldsmith have spent far less. Nancy Pelosi recently endorsed Goldsmith. Ads focus on affordability, housing, public safety and partisan loyalty, reflecting a broader business-labor struggle over California Democratic Party direction.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed Senate Bill 802, requiring Sacramento city and county, along with Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, Citrus Heights and Folsom, to form a joint powers authority to coordinate the region's homelessness response by January 2028. It marks the first time California's Legislature has mandated such an arrangement, which is typically voluntary, and supporters say it could set a template for other regions where cities and counties often clash over responsibility for shelter beds and services.

The law follows decades of dysfunction in Sacramento, where nearly 90 officials across eight boards worked without coordination. The city supports the measure, but Sacramento County and Folsom oppose being forced into cooperation and are threatening legal action. Critics point to the troubled Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, now under federal scrutiny and defunded by the county, as a cautionary example, while supporters cite Solano County's joint authority, formed in 2022, as a working model. The outcome could influence how other California counties structure future homelessness governance.

California's High-Speed Rail Authority secured only one of the several legislative priorities it said were needed to keep the Merced-to-Bakersfield rail segment on schedule. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1425, letting the authority issue permits to utilities, local governments and developers on authority-controlled land, but broader proposals—faster environmental reviews, expedited court dispute resolution, sales tax exemptions on construction materials, and new authority to tap local tax revenue near the rail line—stalled or were never formally introduced. Local officials strongly opposed the tax-revenue idea, calling it a raid on funds needed for services and road repairs.

A separate bill from Sen. Henry Stern to let the authority spend more state climate funds outside the Central Valley segment died in committee, as did a utility-relocation bill from Sen. Scott Wiener. The authority and lawmakers traded blame over the losses. The project, now estimated to cost $126-231 billion with full buildout by 2040, depends on $1 billion in annual state carbon-auction funding that could shrink under pending climate rule changes, adding further uncertainty to its timeline.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill authored by state Sen. Angelique Ashby (D-Sacramento) that requires Sacramento County and its cities to form a new Joint Powers Authority dedicated to homeless services, coordinating outreach, prevention, and shelter programs regionally. The law comes as a January point-in-time count found more than 7,400 people without permanent housing in Sacramento, a 12% increase over two years, despite the state providing nearly $500,000 to the county for homelessness over the past five years.

Ashby argues current efforts are fragmented across more than eight boards and nearly 90 officials working without coordination, and some city councilmembers support the new structure. Sacramento County opposes the mandate, questioning its legality and arguing it adds bureaucracy on top of reforms already underway in shelter operations, street outreach, and mental health and substance abuse services. The county is considering a legal challenge. The new agency must be established by January 2028.