Doris Matsui Bio
Doris Kazue Okada Matsui (born September 25, 1944) is an American politician who has represented California’s congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, she succeeded her late husband, Bob Matsui, after his death in January 2005. Her district, based in Sacramento, has been held continuously by Democrats since 1953. Matsui is recognized for her work on healthcare reform, environmental protection, and technology policy.
Before her election to Congress, Matsui served in the Clinton White House and built a career as a government affairs consultant in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where she has served as ranking member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee. She also co-chairs the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition and chairs the Congressional Spectrum Caucus.
Early Life and Background
Doris Matsui was born Doris Okada in Poston, Arizona, inside the Poston War Relocation Center, one of the internment camps where Japanese Americans were confined during World War II. After the war, her family settled in Dinuba, a small community in California’s San Joaquin Valley, where she was raised. Growing up in the Central Valley shaped her understanding of agriculture, working families, and the diverse communities of inland California.
She attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. While at Berkeley, she met her future husband, Bob Matsui, who would later become a long-serving member of Congress. The couple had one son, Brian. Her education and early family life in California provided the foundation for a career in public service that began during the 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton.
Path to US Politics
Matsui’s entry into national politics began as a volunteer on Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign. Following Clinton’s election, she joined his transition team. In 1993, she was appointed Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Public Liaison, serving under Alexis Herman. One of her main responsibilities was engaging with the Asian American and Pacific Islander community across the country.
She served in the White House from 1993 to 1998. In 1999, she worked with President Clinton to create the first White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. In September 2000, Clinton appointed her to the board of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. After leaving the White House, Matsui became a lobbyist and government affairs consultant in Washington, representing corporate clients until 2005.
Doris Matsui Career
Early Career (1992–2004)
Matsui’s professional political career began with her work on the 1992 Clinton presidential campaign. Her five years in the White House gave her direct experience with federal policymaking, executive decision-making, and coalition-building. The relationships she built during this period would later support her successful run for Congress.
After leaving the administration in 1998 and completing her board appointment at the Woodrow Wilson Center, she worked as a lobbyist in Washington. She represented corporate clients and built a network within the Democratic Party that would later help her transition into elected office.
Congressional Breakthrough (2005–2012)
Representative Bob Matsui died on January 1, 2005, from complications of myelodysplastic syndrome, just two months after winning a 14th term in what was then California’s 5th district. On January 9, 2005, the day after his funeral, Doris Matsui announced her candidacy for his open seat. In the special election on March 8, 2005, she received 68 percent of the vote and was sworn in to serve the balance of her husband’s term.
She won a full term in 2006 and was reelected multiple times without serious difficulty. The district, redrawn and renumbered as the 6th district in 2013, has remained in Democratic hands without interruption since 1953. Her early congressional years were marked by work on the Energy and Commerce Committee, where she focused on communications, technology, and spectrum policy.
Sacramento District Era (2013–Present)
Following redistricting, Matsui’s seat became California’s 6th district in 2013 and was renumbered as the 7th district in 2023. She has been reelected eight more times, continuing to represent a district based in Sacramento. During this period, she rose to become ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
She chairs the Congressional Spectrum Caucus and has championed the deployment of next-generation wireless technologies and affordable high-speed broadband. As co-chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, she has advocated for renewable energy, clean water, and strong vehicle emission standards. She has also co-chaired the Rare Disease Congressional Caucus, working to expand care and telehealth access for patients with rare conditions.
Notable Events and Milestones
On March 8, 2021, the second anniversary of the U.S. women’s national soccer team’s pay discrimination lawsuit, Matsui and Representative Rosa DeLauro introduced the Give Our Athletes Level Salaries (GOALS) Act, seeking fair and equitable pay for the women’s team. She also authored the Excellence in Mental Health Act, which was signed into law by President Obama in 2014 and established Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics across the country. According to a FiveThirtyEight analysis, she voted with President Joe Biden’s stated position 100 percent of the time during the 117th Congress.
Doris Matsui Family
Family Background and Heritage
Doris Matsui was born into a Japanese American family that experienced wartime internment at the Poston War Relocation Center in Arizona. After the war, her family rebuilt their lives in Dinuba, in California’s Central Valley. Her marriage to Bob Matsui connected her to a prominent political family in Sacramento that had deep roots in the Democratic Party and the Japanese American community.
Personal Life
Matsui and Bob Matsui were married from 1966 until his death in 2005. They had one son, Brian, and she has two grandchildren. On April 11, 2020, she married Roger Sant, co-founder of the AES Corporation. She resides in the Sacramento area, which she has represented in Congress for two decades.