Thousands and thousands of Individuals will spend Memorial Day weekend honoring those that died whereas serving within the US navy — however California congressional candidate Mai Vang possible is not going to be one in all them.
The lefty Sacramento metropolis councilmember has boasted about refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance at public conferences and ceremonies — and routinely turned her again on the flag.
Vang, who’s trying to unseat longtime Democratic Rep. Doris Matsui within the June main election, is presently polling neck-and-neck with the incumbent and barely forward of Republican Zachariah Picket.
However the potential of an anti-American congressmember isn’t sitting proper with some constituents within the state’s lately redrawn seventh congressional district, which added extra conservative pockets like Lodi, Placerville and El Dorado Hills to a electoral map that already included components of Sacramento and Elk Grove.
David Cushman, chair of the San Joaquin Republican Celebration, mentioned that Vang is trying to mildew herself within the picture of the bold New York Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez.
“Her technique is badly misjudged and actually dangerous match for the district,” he advised The California Put up.
“She’s attempting to be the AOC of the Central Valley, however this isn’t the identical district as AOC’s and even Nancy Pelosi’s district [in San Francisco].”
Vang, the daughter of Hmong refugees, has had a number of notable incidents wherein she refused to participate within the Pledge — from a Veterans Day ceremony final yr to district conferences on Jan. 22 and March 26, in addition to a Sacramento Metropolis Council assembly on July 1, 2025.
Steve Maviglio, a Democratic political advisor in Sacramento, known as Vang’s actions “utterly disrespectful to veterans and their households.”
“It’s ‘Patriotism 101,’ you say the Pledge of Allegiance even for those who don’t agree with the whole lot,” Maviglio mentioned.
“You’ll be able to’t say the Pledge of Allegiance — that’s how excessive you might be? Come on.”
Vang, who didn’t reply to the Put up’s request for remark, even celebrated her refusal to quote the Pledge of Allegiance in a social media submit final yr.
“As a lot as I really like this nation, I take advantage of that second to floor myself — to heart our communities and remind myself of the injustices and hurt that proceed to have an effect on so many, each regionally and throughout the globe, beneath this nation’s affect,” she wrote, including #FreePalestine and #KeepFamiliesTogether hashtags.
“We should not tune out — they need us to grow to be numb to the realities we see within the information — it’s a part of the plan to maintain us complacent. However as a substitute, we resist. We encompass ourselves with family members, take time to relaxation, stay vigilant, and keep steadfast within the battle for fairness, justice & humanity.”
What has additional enraged a few of Vang’s critics is the distinction in her household’s path to the US — with the help of the US navy — in comparison with the way in which Matsui’s household was handled.
Rep. Matsui, 81, was born in an internment camp throughout World Battle II after the federal authorities compelled her household and plenty of Japanese Individuals into detention amenities.
“[Vang] is happening like she’s the large champion of immigrant rights, and Matsui lived it,” Maviglio mentioned.
Amy Gardner, a group organizer who based Midtown-East Sac Advocates, known as Vang’s actions through the Pledge “infuriating” whereas additionally criticizing the councilmember’s method to public security.
Vang repeatedly opposed Sacramento metropolis budgets over disagreements about police spending, together with voting towards a number of budgets between 2021 and 2025, in accordance with the Sacramento Bee.
“I feel she’s actively attempting to take cash away from the police division and legislation enforcement throughout the board,” Gardener mentioned.
Corrin Rankin, chairwoman of the California Republican Celebration, mentioned the controversy over Vang’s refusal to participate in one thing as basic because the Pledge speaks to broader issues contained in the Democratic Celebration.
“An excessive amount of contempt for legislation enforcement, too little respect for our nation, and no understanding of what Californians worth,” Rankin mentioned.
“Voters need leaders who respect the police and honor our flag. When a candidate can not meet that primary take a look at, it tells voters the whole lot they should know.”
Picket, a first-time candidate who hails from San Joaquin County, seems to be inside shouting distance of ending within the prime two, which might permit him to advance to the November runoff.
“To listen to that any individual needs to be a sitting member of US Congress and seems to be disinterested within the main symbols of American pleasure and what it means to be an American, it’s not simply disappointing — it’s malicious,” he mentioned.
“Numerous her rhetoric is a rejection of our primary American values.”
