California threatens to worsen House Democrats' 2027 headaches

Axios · 10/8/2026, 11:12:33 PM

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 Jones Thompson , 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 Vang Matsui, 82, 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 c