Hasan Piker Takes Aim at Veteran California Congresswoman's 'Personal Fortune'

Streamer Hasan Piker told a Sacramento rally this week that Rep. Doris Matsui is spending her own wealth to save her seat while pro-Israel money pours in behind her. Drop Site News puts the California Democrat's loans to her own campaign at about $6.9 million.

Piker appeared at the Sacramento Democratic Socialists of America rally for Sacramento City Council member Mai Vang, a DSA-endorsed candidate who is challenging Matsui in California's 7th Congressional District. The two Democrats meet in Tuesday's general election under California's top-two system, and Vang finished first in the June primary.

"Doris has spent millions of dollars of her own personal fortune. AIPAC has dumped another $800,000 into the race in a panic because they know that we are coming!" Piker told the Sacramento Democratic Socialists of America crowd.

What Hasan Piker and Mai Vang Said About Doris Matsui's Money

Piker described Matsui as "that 20-year incumbent Doris Matsui, an 82-year-old corporate Democrat who sits on a personal fortune exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars after marrying the billionaire co-founder of multinational utility giant AES Corporation."

He argued that "the only way to beat organized money, and Doris has a lot of that, is with organized people," and he told the crowd that "for far too long, we have plugged our noses and voted against Republicans." He also pointed to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as the kind of officeholder California progressives should want.

Vang, speaking before him, gave smaller numbers for the outside money. "AIPAC, shell PACs, they are funneling money over $700,000 into Sacramento, into this race," she said. She added that "in this last week alone, our opponent is dropping $1.5 million in misleading negative ads."

She called it extreme to be "able to loan yourself $7 million to buy your own seat in Congress."

What the Filings Show

Matsui added fresh personal loans to her campaign in late October, though published accounts of the amounts differ. Elk Grove News reported, citing Federal Election Commission filings, a $1.5 million loan on Oct. 23. Drop Site News reported two late loans, $2.59 million on a Friday and $1.52 million on a Sunday, and put her total self-lending at $6.9 million.

The outside money falls between the two speakers' figures. Drop Site News reported on Oct. 27 that two groups have reserved $785,000 in late ads against Vang. Pro-Choice Majority Action reserved $300,000 on Oct. 5, and Affordable California reserved the remaining $485,000.

Drop Site described Affordable California as a Dallas-address group with a single donor, the 501(c)(4) American Foundation for Good Government, so its underlying donors are undisclosed. Drop Site described EDW Action as a known AIPAC passthrough PAC that uses Pro-Choice Majority Action. An AIPAC spokesperson pushed back, saying "not every dollar spent to defeat extremist candidates comes from AIPAC," according to Elk Grove News.

Matsui has distanced herself from Israel's government. "I have called Netanyahu a war criminal," she told CapRadio in May, adding that she "will not send any offensive dollars." Vang has had outside help of her own. CapRadio reported at the time that National Nurses United and the Working Families Party PAC had spent about $445,000 supporting her.

What to Watch on Tuesday

Vang led the June primary 31.2 percent to 29.2 percent. A Data for Progress poll in mid-August had her ahead 32 percent to 28 percent, with 40 percent undecided or planning to abstain. At the rally, Vang told supporters she does not trust polling: "Polls don't vote. Voters do."

The race now tests whether nearly $7 million of Matsui's own money and $785,000 in late outside ad reservations can beat a challenger whose campaign is built on door-knocking. Piker told the crowd it had "five more days to knock on as many doors as possible."