This Democratic stalwart has earned another term representing Sacramento in Congress

Recent years have seen Rep. Doris Matsui grow more outspoken than ever about anti-Asian racism amid its pandemic-era resurgence and, before that, Donald Trump’s prohibition of immigration from predominantly Muslim countries. Born amid a grim expression of racism turned federal policy, in an Arizona internment camp for Japanese Americans, the Sacramento Democrat is herself a striking example of prejudice overcome. Elected to Congress soon after the 2005 death of her husband, Rep. Robert Matsui — who was an infant when his own family was interned — she has been handily reelected eight times, extending a family legacy in Congress dating to 1979.

She’s not done yet. After redistricting split Sacramento and rearranged representation of its suburbs, Matsui, currently in the 6th Congressional District, announced a run for reelection in the new 7th. Expected to be safely Democratic, the district encompasses about half of Matsui’s old district, including downtown and other neighborhoods of Sacramento, as well as suburban and Delta territory outside the old 6th, including Elk Grove, West Sacramento and Isleton.

Matsui is facing an energetic challenge from the left by Jimmy Fremgen, a Democratic substitute teacher and former congressional and legislative aide. Republican Max Semenenko, a North Highlands small-business owner, is also running but did not respond to a request for an interview with The Bee’s Editorial Board.

During her current term, Matsui has championed legislation to document and combat anti-Asian American hate crimes and increase awareness of Japanese American interment. She also supports President Joe Biden’s decision to stop barring asylum seekers from the country on public health pretexts, which has divided her caucus. “It’s inhumane,” Matsui said of the policy, known as Title 42, during a meeting with The Sacramento Bee’s Editorial Board. “It doesn’t go along with who we are as a country.”

Testifying about the hate crime bill to a House subcommittee last year, Matsui drew a parallel between her parents’ experience of mass race-based federal imprisonment and the stoking of anti-Asian bigotry at the highest levels of government during the pandemic. “We’ve seen the consequences when we go down this path,” she said. “My family has lived through these consequences. This is what we are working to root out from the deepest place in our social conscience.”

A member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which provides oversight of the Environmental Protection Agency and Energy Department, Matsui has backed measures to address a semiconductor chip shortage and supply chain problems, increase social media transparency, encourage modernization of mental health care technology and practices, lower vehicle emissions, and fund tree-planting. She also recently helped secure federal money to shore up levees against the threat of flooding in Natomas and West Sacramento.

A former aide to the late Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., Fremgen doesn’t differ dramatically with Matsui on most policy questions, but he has made a point of eschewing corporate campaign contributions and drawing attention to the congresswoman’s sources of support. Inspired by his own hardships during the pandemic, he also has a plan to make the office more responsive to constituents in need of assistance — the necessity of which Matsui vehemently denies.

Fremgen’s is an admirable upstart campaign, but it ultimately falls short of a convincing case for ousting a representative of Matsui’s stature.

This story was originally published May 6, 2022 at 5:00 AM.