California threatens to worsen House Democrats' 2027 headaches

More than half a dozen U.S. House districts in California will send a Democrat to Capitol Hill next year no matter what. Party leadership still has a lot riding on the outcome.Why it matters: Most of these Democrat vs. Democrat runoffs — a quirk of California's election system — are between an establishment candidate and an outsider vowing to make leadership's life hell.Democratic Reps. Mike Thompson, Doris Matsui and Jimmy Gomez are all facing well-funded challenges from younger, less establishment-aligned Democrats.There are also several Northern California races that feature a pro-leadership Democrat facing off against a more left-leaning rival.Sought for comment on this story, Justin Chermol, a spokesperson for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), told Axios: "Stop wasting our time with your irrelevant stories that have nothing to do with taking back control of the House of Representatives."4th District: Rep. Mike Thompson vs. Eric JonesThompson, a 75-year-old first elected in 1998, faces a challenge from 35-year-old former venture capitalist Eric Jones."I don't think anyone in Democratic leadership today is really doing their job well," Jones said in an interview with Axios.Asked if he would vote for Jeffries as speaker, Jones replied: "As of today, I wouldn't vote for any member."Jones is trying to cobble together a populist, anti-establishment coalition consisting of both progressives and Republicans. He said he does not identify as progressive, telling Axios he prefers "no labels."He said that, if elected, he will "have the benefit of independence ... of not taking party money, and I'm not going to vote a party line."7th District: Rep. Doris Matsui vs. Mai VangMatsui, 85, is seen as particularly vulnerable after finishing second to Mai Vang in the jungle primary election in June.Vang, a progressive Sacramento City Councilmember in her 40s, has positioned herself alongside a new bloc of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-aligned candidates including Darializa Avila Chevalier, Chris Rabb and Melat Kiros.She previously signaled to Axios she won't vote for Jeffries as speaker, saying she "cannot support this kind of leadership" and that "we need new leadership and a new direction."11th District: Scott Wiener vs. Connie ChanThe fight between state Sen. Scott Wiener and San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan to succeed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been particularly bitter.Chan has positioned herself to the left of Wiener, a longtime progressive who has come under fire from the pro-Palestinian movement for being insufficiently critical of Israel.Wiener told Mission Local he looks "forward to electing Hakeem Jeffries speaker."Chan told the outlet that "any candidate for speaker, including Hakeem Jeffries, will have to earn my vote."14th District: Rep. Aisha Wahab vs. Melissa HernandezWahab, a progressive former state senator, defeated Hernandez, the more moderate former mayor of Dublin, California, in an August special elect