Candidate · November 3, 2026

Doris Matsui

On the ballot for U.S. House · California's 7th District

DemocraticIncumbent
raised through Oct 14, 2026
$7.8M
cash on hand
$2.0M
issues with public statements
14
outside spending for or against
$892K

§1On the ballot

Why this matters: This is exactly how the candidate appears on your ballot, from the state's official candidate list.

OfficeU.S. House · California's 7th District1
Party on the ballotDemocratic1
StatusIncumbent — Currently represents California's 7th District in the U.S. House.2
How it's decidedUnder California's top-two system, only the two candidates who received the most votes in the June 2, 2026, primary, regardless of party preference, appear on this general-election ballot.1,3
Also on the ballot

§2Who they are

Why this matters: Background and experience help you judge how someone might do the job. These come from public records and the candidate's own materials.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Doris Matsui was born in the World War II internment camp for Japanese Americans at Poston, Arizona, grew up on a farm in California's Central Valley, was valedictorian of Dinuba Union High School and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.4,5 She served on President Clinton's transition board and later as Deputy Assistant to the President in the White House Office of Public Liaison.5 She won a special election in March 2005 to succeed her late husband, Robert Matsui, in Congress, and has represented Sacramento and nearby areas since then.5 She is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the ranking member of its Communications and Technology Subcommittee.5

Why they say they're running

Her campaign website says her family's wartime internment is the reason she chose public service, to make government work for everyone and not just the powerful, and that she continues to fight for fairness, opportunity and a government that works for everyone.4

Service in Congress since 2023

  • 2025–nowU.S. Representative, CA-72
  • 2023–2025U.S. Representative, CA-72

Websites and accounts

§3What they've said on the issues

Why this matters: These are positions the candidate has stated publicly — on their campaign website or in public statements — summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Issues they haven't spoken about publicly are left out.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Each issue has its own range of views. A position is marked on that range only when the candidate's own statement clearly matches one option; there is no overall left–right score.

Health Care

Health insurance system

Her campaign website says she helped pass the Affordable Care Act, and an earlier issues page still on the site says she will keep working to build on the law and its consumer protections.9,10

Federal Medicaid funding

Her campaign website says she has cosponsored five bills to repeal President Trump's cuts to federal health care safety-net funding.9

Social Security and Medicare

Medicare drug price negotiation

Her campaign website lists among her accomplishments helping pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which it says caps prescription drug costs for Medicare patients; an earlier issues page still on the site says the law lets Medicare negotiate lower prices for some prescription drugs.9,10

Medicare coverage of new tests and services

Her campaign website says she passed a law that permanently lets Medicare patients get mental health treatment by telehealth at home, and that she is working through the CONNECT Act to make all telehealth services permanent for Medicare patients.9

  1. Add more services by law, such as permanent telehealth from home and testing and treatment by pharmacists
  2. Leave new coverage mainly to Medicare's own reviews of the medical evidence
  3. Add services only when savings elsewhere in Medicare cover their cost
Marked: the option their statement matches.

Environment and Public Lands

Air pollution limits

Her campaign website says she has led efforts to strengthen nationwide vehicle pollution standards, opposed rollbacks of national clean vehicle standards and of California's vehicle emissions authority, and worked to extend and expand a program that replaces or retrofits older diesel engines.9

  1. Strengthen limits, such as tighter standards for soot and for pollution from trucks and factories
  2. Keep current limits
  3. Ease limits and give states more leeway, such as for pollution from wildfires or other countries
Marked: the option their statement matches.
Conservation and development on federal lands

Her campaign website says she co-chairs a congressional task force on public lands and waters and opposed Park Service staff cuts and President Trump's attempts to log public forests, and an earlier issues page still on the site says she is leading efforts for greater protection of old-growth and mature forests on federal lands.9,10

  1. Protect more land, such as with new national monuments or wilderness areas
  2. Keep roughly the current mix of protection and development
  3. Open more federal land to mining, logging and grazing
Marked: the option their statement matches.

Technology, Privacy and AI

High-speed internet access

Her campaign website says she is working to protect the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program and to restore the Affordable Connectivity Program, which gave low-income families monthly internet discounts.9

  1. Pay to build networks where service is lacking, and help low-income households with monthly bills
  2. Pay to build networks where service is lacking, but not to help with monthly bills
  3. Cut government broadband spending and leave expansion mainly to private companies
Marked: the option their statement matches.
Rules for artificial intelligence

Her campaign website says she is working to set strong federal guardrails on how AI is developed and used, and that she wrote a bill to ban harmful algorithmic practices, increase transparency about how online platforms amplify and moderate content, and investigate discriminatory AI systems.9

Economy, Jobs and Trade

Federal minimum wage

An earlier issues page still on her campaign website says she strongly supports raising the national minimum wage to keep pace with rising costs.10

Education

Student loan forgiveness

An earlier issues page still on her campaign website says she supported the Biden administration's actions on student debt and cosponsored bills to write the SAVE income-based repayment plan into law and to double Pell Grant awards.10

Immigration

Immigration enforcement inside the country

Her campaign website says she works to protect residents from what it calls illegal ICE activity and has repeatedly voted against funding ICE.9

Masks and identification for immigration officers

Her campaign website says she opposes allowing masked ICE agents to disregard the rule of law.9

Energy and Climate

Clean energy tax credits

Her official House biography says she helped secure clean energy tax incentives and credits through the Inflation Reduction Act, and an earlier issues page still on her campaign website says she supported that law's clean energy investments.5,10

Infrastructure and Transportation

Highway and transit funding

Her campaign website lists federal money she secured for Sacramento-area light rail, streetcar, bus and passenger rail projects, and says she continues to work with the regional transit agency and local leaders on affordable and reliable public transportation.9

§4Popular bills that never got a vote

Why this matters: Many bills with wide support from both parties never reach a vote, so no member of Congress is ever on record for or against them. Signing on as a sponsor or cosponsor is the only public record of support.

While Doris Matsui served, these bills had broad support from both parties but never reached a floor vote. No officeholder ever had to vote on them. Doris Matsui sponsored or cosponsored 30 of the 52. How bills die without a vote.

See all 52

§5Money

Why this matters: Campaigns report where their money comes from and how much they have left. Outside groups that spend on their own, without coordinating with the campaign, report that too.

Reported to the Federal Election Commission for the 2025–2026 election cycle, through October 14, 2026.63

Raised$7,837,819
Spent$6,148,707
Cash on hand$1,995,780
Debts owed by the campaign$5,400,000

Where the money came from

Individual donors$1.1M · 15%
PACs and other political committees$1.2M · 15%
The candidate's own money (gifts and loans)$5.4M · 69%
Transfers from the candidate's other committees$71K · 1%

Outside spending

Groups spending independently reported $500,161 supporting and $392,000 opposing Doris Matsui this cycle, primary and general combined, in the 24- and 48-hour reports the law requires for larger expenditures, filed through October 26, 2026.64

Largest independent spenders, as named in their FEC filings.
GroupSupportingOpposing
RISING TIDE COLLECTIVE$400,000—
Justice Democrats PAC—$197,000
Working Families Party PAC—$195,000
National Association of Realtors Political Action Committee$66,661—
PROTECTING OUR VOTE PAC$33,500—

Smaller expenditures that appear only on a group's regular monthly or quarterly report aren't in these totals, so the full amounts can be somewhat higher. When a group amends a report, only its latest version is counted.

§6Financial disclosures

Why this matters: Federal candidates and members of Congress must report their assets, income, debts and outside jobs, and members must report stock trades. These filings show possible conflicts of interest.