How critical are young CA voters? Activist David Hogg weighs in at Mai Vang event
Sacramento Councilmember Mai Vang and prominent gun control activist David Hogg joined forces Saturday in the capital region in hopes of swaying prospective California voters to the “People Power Club,” a slogan adopted by Vang’s congressional campaign to showcase her commitment to avoid corporate donors.
Vang, 41, is challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui in California’s 7th Congressional District in the June 2 primary election. Matsui, 81, seeks her 13th election to the seat that covers parts of Sacramento, Elk Grove, El Dorado Hills and Placerville, covering a range of urban, suburban and rural communities. Both candidates are Democrats.
Around 50 people were greeted by Vang and Hogg at A Seat at the Table Books in Elk Grove, where Vang’s campaign team wore purple “People Power Club” T-shirts. Music played outside from pop artists including Chappell Roan (whose hit song “Pink Pony Club” shares the PPC initials).
As the event kicked off, Vang moderated a Q&A with Hogg, who was vice chair of the Democratic National Committee from February to June 2025 and who founded the Leaders We Deserve political action committee.
Hogg discussed the importance of the 7th Congressional District race, and how the district’s young voters could determine the outcome. He discussed how young voters played a significant role in the 2022 election, saying young adults are swing voters who are motivated by values.
Hogg, a 26-year-old survivor of the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida, also said he believes many of these voters lost interest in the Democratic Party during the 2020 election as concerns about former President Joe Biden’s age were raised. Biden withdrew about 100 days before the 2024 election.
Hogg said economic issues had a similar sentiment, saying young voters were worried about the economy but didn’t resonate with Democratic messaging at the time.
“If you tell people not to believe their eyeballs and wallets, you’re going to lose them even with several billion dollars in advertising,” Hogg said.
To combat what Hogg calls the generation’s values-based voting patterns, he said, Democratic candidates need to do more than distance themselves from political figures many Democrats might oppose, like President Donald Trump.
“We need candidates like (Vang) who are focused on the immediate solutions ... but also address the fundamental underlying economics that make it so expensive to buy a house in California,” Hogg said.
The most recent Harvard Youth Poll, executed this spring by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, reports 18- to 29-year-olds prefer candidates more aligned with their values, citing the sentiment “both political parties care more about elites than people like them.”
After the event concluded, Vang said her short-term goal would be to get people in place to advocate for longer-term initiatives like universal healthcare.
As the Q&A wrapped up, attendees prompted a discussion about whether young people are reliable voters. Hogg responded, “Let’s give them somebody they actually want to vote for.”
Hogg also discussed his belief that corporate dollars need to stay out of politics, saying campaigns funded by individuals aren’t aligned with potential “bad actors,” and can hold those entities accountable without worrying about future campaign contributions.
“The first step is making sure we have Democrats that are not actively incentivized not to go out to the bad actors that are abusing people across this country,” said Hogg, who according to event organizers was making his first-ever appearance in the Sacramento area.
Matsui’s campaign had about $1.34 million at the end of 2026’s first quarter while Vang has nearly $600,000, according to previous Sacramento Bee reporting.
One of Vang’s top contributors was ActBlue, a Democratic political action committee and online fundraising platform largely based on individual donations. Meanwhile, Matsui’s largest donors are political action committees such as American Society of Health System Pharmacist, American Crystal Sugar Company and Verizon Communications Inc.
Vang, who has been on the Sacramento City Council since 2020, hopes to advocate for Medicare for All, build affordable housing, abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and tax billionaires “to pay their fair share,” according to her website.
This campaign cycle, Matsui touts her efforts to secure funding for flood protection, transportation projects and expanding healthcare access.
Matsui won reelection in 2024 by a landslide, defeating Republican Tom Silva by a 34 percentage-point margin in the general election after a primary win in which she outpaced fellow Democrat David Mandel by nearly 43 percentage points.
Despite Matsui’s success in 2024, Hogg said he thinks Vang stands a chance in the June 2 primary.
“I wouldn’t be here right now if there wasn’t a pathway to victory in this race,” he said.
