Knives come out for Katie Porter over recent videos

Knives are coming out for former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) in the California gubernatorial race after several videos released this week generated widespread criticism over her behavior.  

Porter’s opponents and other Democrats rebuked the former congresswoman this week after she sought to end an interview early over a question that was visibly frustrating her.

Shortly after, Politico obtained a video of Porter berating a staffer in 2021 for entering her live shot while she was recording a video with then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm (D), fueling further backlash.  

Though the California primary is months away, the incidents are threatening to hinder her momentum in the race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), where several polls show her leading the field early. 

“Voters can be very forgiving, but they're forgiving only when the candidate or the elected official who's transgressed fesses up, admits that they made a mistake, that they had a bad moment and apologizes for it, and that often works,” said longtime Democratic strategist Darry Sragow. 

During an interview with CBS News California Investigates that aired this week, Porter was asked what she would say to the roughly 40 percent of California voters who voted for President Trump in November who she would need in order to win.  

“How would I need them in order to win, ma’am?” Porter asked the reporter, Julie Watts.

“Unless you think you're gonna get 60 percent of the vote? You think you'll get 60 percent — all, everybody who did not vote for Trump will vote for you? That’s what — ” Watts asked. 

“In a general election? Yes. If it is me vs. a Republican, I think that I will win the people who did not vote for Trump,” Porter said. 

Pressed about a scenario in which she was running against another Democrat, Porter said she didn’t “intend that to be the case.” 

“No, no, I'm saying I'm going to build the support,” Porter said when asked to clarify. “I have the support already in terms of name recognition, and so I'm going to do the very best I can to make sure that we get through this primary in a really strong position.” She added she had experience winning over Republicans, having represented a purple California district. 

However, Porter started to appear frustrated later in the interview when Watts noted the former congresswoman had previously suggested she didn’t need Trump voters in order to win her gubernatorial race. 

“No, I'm saying I'm going to try to win every vote I can,” Porter said at one point, seeking to clarify her position, before she later signaled she wanted to stop the interview.  

A campaign spokesperson said Porter continued the interview for another 20 minutes after the exchange. Watts also told CBS News’ Major Garrett that Porter continued the interview after the tense exchange. 

Not long after Porter’s interview with Watts, Politico reported on a video they obtained, which was taken in 2021 while Porter was recording remarks with Graholm. At one point, Porter told a staffer who had entered her live shot, “Get out of my f------ shot!” 

The staffer said she wanted to correct something Porter had said during the video. 

“Okay, you also were in my shot before that. Stay out of my shot,” the former congresswoman said. 

Many of Porter’s challengers took the opportunity to criticize her over the incidents, with at least one Democrat going so far as to call on her to drop out. 

Other Democrats on social media also responded to the incident, criticizing her for her behavior and calling it unprofessional. Others who had endorsed her came to her defense, including the Teamsters California co-chairs and the California Federation of Labor Unions president, according to Politico. 

“It's no secret I hold myself and my staff to a high standard, and that was especially true as a member of Congress,” Porter said in a statement, regarding the 2021 video. “I have sought to be more intentional in showing gratitude to my staff for their important work.” 

Several polls, which surveyed Californians months out from the June primary before these incidents, suggested Porter was an early frontrunner, though the field may not be fully crystalized. 

An Emerson College Polling survey released in August showed Porter at 18 percent, with Republican Steve Hilton at 12 percent next. A Berkeley IGS Poll released that month also showed Porter in first place at 17 percent, followed by Republican Chad Bianco at 10 percent and former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra at 9 percent. 

Still, some Democrats suggested it was a bad look for Porter. 

“My first impression when I saw the CBS video was, ‘Holy cow, what an argumentative interview for a non-argumentative set of questions’ and just the approach that she took was surprising, and then to take it off the rails for no apparent reason was shocking,” said Los Angeles-based Democratic strategist Doug Herman. 

But Porter’s campaign signaled it wasn’t concerned about her strength in the primary moving, forward, projecting her as a fighter needed in the moment. 

“Californians are hungry for a governor who they trust can fight for them against Trump,” Campaign spokesman Peter Opitz said in a statement. “They know from her work taking on powerful interests in Washington that Katie is never going to be shy about calling out bulls---, and that is why every poll shows Katie firmly in the lead." 

Other Democratic strategists noted that while her behavior may have been unprofessional or a bad moment for her, staff abuse isn’t an uncommon occurrence in an industry that can feel like a pressure cooker and that sometimes people have a bad day. 

It’s a “bit of a manufactured issue,” said Democratic strategist Jim Ross, who helped Newsom become San Francisco mayor.  

“I think there's a lot of other politicians in the state that would like to knock Katie Porter either out of the governor's race or down and take her out of her kind of frontrunner status,” he said, “I mean that's what always happens when you're the frontrunner, right? Everybody's kind of gunning for you.” 

Elizabeth Ashford, who’s served as an adviser to top California politicians, including former Vice President Harris and former Govs. Jerry Brown (D) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), said that the dynamics of the race are still shaping up, noting that the key question only weeks ago was whether Harris would run for governor. 

Ashford suggested that one sign that could be worrisome is if donors and supporters started to pull back from Porter after this. She also noted people might view Porter’s interactions in different ways, particularly at a time when there's a level of distrust around the media. 

“By some standards, it might be a deal breaker,” she said. “By others, it just might be like, ... ‘Oh wow, you know, what a tough broad.’”