Katie Porter has not denied that more videos of her rebuking staff members could come to light ahead of her gubernatorial run.
Speaking during an appearance on Nexstar’s Inside California Politics, the potential Democratic candidate for California governor reacted after an old video of her telling a staffer to “get out of my f****** shot” emerged last week.
Newsweek has reached out the Porter campaign via email for comment.
Why It Matters
California will elect its next governor in 2026 when Gavin Newsom, who has served in the role since 2019, will see his term end. Porter is running for the governorship after an unsuccessful Senate bid last year.
The state is reliably Democratic. It backed former Vice President Kamala Harris by 20 points last November and hasn’t elected a Republican governor since Arnold Schwarzenegger served between 2003 and 2011. Anything Porter does that could dampen Democratic support in the state will worry the party.
What To Know
A video, obtained by Politico, which said it was dated July 2021, showed Porter talking to then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in a video call about electric vehicles when a member of her staff moves into the background.
“Get out of my f****** shot,” Porter told the unidentified female employee.
When asked by host Nikki Laurenzo: “Can voters be confident that there won’t be another one of those videos that come to light,” referring to the incident with her staffer, Porter did not directly answer the question and said: “What I do know is that I could have done better in that situation.”
“That’s not a no, so is there potentially another video that we are going to see?” Laurenzo asked.
Porter said the video was several years old and that she had apologized to the staffer in the video. She said she promised “to do better.”
Asked again if there could be more videos, Porter refused to rule the possibility out and said: “I am taking responsibility for this situation and I’m also not going to back down from fighting back for California.”
Footage of Porter threatening to leave a CBS News interview held weeks ago also recently surfaced online. She clashed with host Julie Watts about whether Porter would need to win over President Donald Trump supporters to win the gubernatorial election.
She was hit with criticism about the interview and a fake AI-generated video of Porter slapping Watts went viral.
Meanwhile, new polling has suggested that while Porter is leading among other Democrats ahead of the upcoming primary for the election, she is behind a Republican candidate, conservative commentator Steve Hilton, by 6 percentage points.
However, previous polls have painted a more favorable picture for Porter. An Emerson College poll from August showed Porter leading the primary for California governor with 18 percent, followed by Hilton at 12 percent, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco at 7 percent, and former Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at 5 percent.
Scott Lucas, who teaches international politics at University College Dublin, said people would forget the video by the time of the election. He said Porter was still leading in most polls.
What People Are Saying
Speaking to Newsweek, Scott Lucas said: “It’s a story for the moment, but the reality here is that Katie Porter in a widespread field is still leading.” He added that there was a “long road to go” until the election and people may not remember the videos by then. “This is not an eve of election video,” he said. “I don’t see this as being a game-changer.”
What Happens Next
California’s primary is scheduled for June 2026. The gubernatorial election is set to take place on November 3, 2026.
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