Over the past three decades, Katie Porter hasn\u2019t changed much. She was always a high achiever, as a prot\u00e9g\u00e9 Harvard Law student studying under then-professor, now-Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and as a first-time congresswoman who flipped an Orange County seat blue in the House of Representatives. During that campaign and her other House campaigns, and when she launched a later bid for California senator, she always billed herself the same way: a single mother, a lawyer and professor, and and unafraid to speak passionately on issues.<\/p>\n
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Porter, 52, is also now the only woman out of eight main candidates running for California governor, a defining characteristic that is being used against her.<\/p>\n
She came to Congress as an experienced consumer advocacy lawyer and managed to flip a red district in 2018 as part of the blue midterm wave during the first Trump administration. She ran a campaign that specifically tested Donald Trump\u2019s policies, calling out his weakening of health care protections and his tax cuts that largely benefited corporations. Once in Washington, she gained a reputation as a person with sharp elbows and an outspoken, but measured, approach<\/a>. She would grill executives during hearings, her trusted accessory a white board she\u2019d scribble across as she interrogated Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan, about poverty-level wages<\/a> at his company or pharmaceutical company\u00a0bosses for putting profits ahead of patient care. She was willing to break away from fellow Democrats, including then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, if it meant defending her beliefs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n FILE: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, right, speaks with Rep. Katie Porter before Israeli President Isaac\u00a0Herzog addresses a Joint Meeting of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on July 19, 2023.<\/p>\n Saul Loeb\/AFP\/Getty Images FILE: Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., points to a chart as she speaks during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing in the\u00a0Rayburn House Office Building on Feb. 1, 2023, in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cThe white board moments were about doing oversight. They were about holding someone to account to try to get answers,\u201d Porter told SFGATE in an exclusive interview just hours before the May 14 gubernatorial debate in San Francisco.<\/p>\n But as the years went on, the very things that helped elect Porter \u2014 her bold, no-nonsense persona, and her comfort with doing things her way \u2014 would soon be the things that weakened her image. Once the front-runner to succeed Gavin Newsom, she is now flailing in the final weeks of an unpredictable governor\u2019s race.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Porter was famous for her attitude. Then it came to haunt her.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Porter is proud of her white board gotcha moments, but \u201cas a governor that is not the role,\u201d Porter told SFGATE. She said there is an assumption that her tone toward people in power \u201ctranslates how I relate to my team for example … and that is not correct.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the first public accusations about the mistreatment of her staff came up in 2022, when leaked texts<\/a> showed Porter reprimanding a member of her team for not following COVID-19 protocol, accusing the staffer of getting her sick. The texts painted Porter as a boss with a no-mercy approach, but safety protocols during that time were still in effect in most workplaces. Then she got heat again in 2023, after announcing a run against Sen. Dianne Feinstein, which sparked its own drama because it was seen as disrespectful to run against the tenured Democrat. Politico wrote that year about how Porter had a \u201cbad boss\u201d problem, with unverified rumors swirling about her harsh treatment of staffers and high turnover on her team. At the time, she responded to the criticism<\/a> on a podcast, saying that she was \u201cwilling to expect people to work hard. I work hard, and I think that\u2019s what the American people should expect.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n FILE: Supporters cheer for U.S. Senate candidate Katie Porter before she came on stage on election night at the Bungalow in Long Beach, Calif., on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.<\/p>\n MediaNews Group\/Getty Images<\/p>\n During that run for Senate in 2024, Porter campaigned on the fact that she was a single mom who drove a minivan and understood everyday affordability issues. But her polarizing reputation came to surface. The Washington Post reported<\/a> conversations with former staffers who said she was brilliant and liked her policies but had concerns with her approach as a boss. In an interview<\/a> with the Los Angeles Times, Porter admitted that her attitude may seem harsh, but she\u2019s really just \u201cmore willing to call out the nonsense.\u201d She ended the race in third place and blamed her loss on special interests and billionaires.<\/p>\n When Porter first jumped in the governor\u2019s race in March 2025, she had by far the most impressive resume as a high-profile former U.S. congresswoman. At the time, over a dozen candidates were flirting with running, mostly men and most without much name recognition. There were three other women: former state legislator Toni Atkins, former state Controller Betty Yee, and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis. (Former Vice President Kamala Harris was rumored to be toying with a run, but she eventually announced<\/a> that July that she would sit out.)<\/p>\n As the field grew more crowded, Porter tried to appeal to voters with her firm belief in universal free childcare and her pledges to make tuition-free colleges and build more housing across the state. Her years of experience and name recognition helped propel her as a leading candidate. She had an edge in the polls up until November<\/a>, when two videos surfaced in the same day that agitated old rumors about her.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In one video, she threatened to leave in the middle of a tense interview with a longtime CBS News reporter, asking for a \u201cpleasant\u201d and \u201cpositive\u201d conversation. Another video showed Porter cursing at a staff member who stepped into frame during an on-camera interview<\/a> in 2021. The videos went viral, prompting Porter to once again defend herself against allegations of mistreatment and a short temper. Democrats in the race called for Porter to drop out.\u00a0<\/p>\n Democrat Katie Porter files paperwork to run for governor of California in Santa Ana, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2026.<\/p>\n MediaNews Group\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cDo I dispute when people say things like I walked out? Yes. Because my butt didn\u2019t even get out of the chair. I stayed. I did the whole interview,\u201d Porter told SFGATE about the CBS News exchange. \u201cDid I get frustrated at that staffer when she walked in that video again and again and again? Yes, and I apologized to her five years ago.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n At the time, Porter apologized and remained in the race \u2014 but the leaks gave her competitors an opening.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n From a shoo-in to soldiering on<\/p>\n As early as September 2024, when it was rumored Porter was considering a run for governor, polling from the University of Southern California found that she was ahead of the pack, with 14% of likely voter support<\/a>. Voters were familiar with her after they\u2019d just seen her name on the ballot for Senate. In December 2024, months before she announced a run, she was again named in early polling and had strong initial support.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Harris eventually announced in July 2025 that she would not run<\/a>, clearing the way for Porter to be the front-runner. Porter continued to enjoy<\/a> the lead in early polling, but as more Democrats filled the race, support began to splinter.\u00a0<\/p>\n Both Eric Swalwell, then a congressman representing the East Bay, and billionaire Tom Steyer\u00a0jumped in the race in November. Around that time, two of the leading Republican candidates, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News host Steve Hilton, began rising up in the polls \u2014 and swapping places for first<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Xavier\u00a0Becerra, left, answers a question as Katie Porter listens during a gubernatorial debate sponsored by CBS Television Stations, in partnership with Asian Pacific American Public Affairs, at Pomona College on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Pomona, Calif.<\/p>\n Eric Thayer\/Los Angeles Times\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Xavier Becerra, the former health secretary in the Biden administration, joined the race as well, and he and Swalwell enjoyed similar name recognition to Porter. (Swalwell was an impeachment manager during the second impeachment of Donald Trump.) They rose quickly in the polls and began to be neck-and-neck with Porter. In April, when sexual assault allegations against Swalwell forced him to drop out of the governor\u2019s race, and from Congress, Becerra was the candidate to boost up to double-digit support. He is now leading the race<\/a> as Porter currently hovers in the 10-12% support range.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s safe has somehow become more important than smart, effective, passionate, brave, all of those accomplishments and those things,\u201d Porter said, when asked about Becerra\u2019s lead. \u201cIt\u2019s hard for people to believe in something they haven\u2019t seen before, and Californians haven\u2019t seen a woman governor.\u201d<\/p>\n The boys\u2019 club\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Porter hasn\u2019t been able to shake the names people call her, and admitting to her faults just might not be enough for a voter base who are likely sick and tired of politicians\u2019 apologies. This, she reasons, is why Becerra, a mainstream Democrat with a more muted personality, is the leading candidate after Swalwell dropped out.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n News reports have honed in on her outbursts. Bianco, the Riverside Republican candidate, called Porter a \u201ccrazy mother\u201d during an KNBC-TV debate earlier this month and suggested that Porter \u201cmight\u201d need a lecture on how to be a good parent<\/a>. The crowd reacted, but Porter kept her composure.\u00a0<\/p>\n In another debate aired on CNN a few days later, Porter pointed out the double standards that she is up against.\u00a0<\/p>\n From left, California gubernatorial candidates former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio\u00a0Villaraigosa, former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, businessman Tom\u00a0Steyer, businessman Steve Hilton, Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra look on during a CNN California Governor Primary Debate at East Los Angeles College on May 5, 2026, in Monterey Park, Calif.<\/p>\n Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t believe that on a stage with 30 minutes of interrupting and bickering and name calling and shouting and disrespect for everyone up here who\u2019s stepping into public service, that anyone wants to talk about my temperament,\u201d Porter said. At another point she said: \u201cBoys, boys. Enough with the bickering.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A recent New York Times op-ed<\/a>, which picked a nickname for the gubernatorial candidates, pegged Porter as the \u201cMean Girl.\u201d When SFGATE asked Porter how she felt when she read the Times piece, Porter contemplated the question.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was obviously a gendered comment. I didn\u2019t see anybody else have a \u2018boy\u2019 in front of them,\u201d Porter said. \u201c… I thought it was immature, and disappointing, and if she wanted to say tough-as-balls lady, no-bulls\u2014t lady, fine. But \u2018mean girl\u2019 felt juvenile.\u201d<\/p>\n Porter knows she\u2019s made poor judgment calls. In a recent TV ad, she referred to the controversial 2021 staffer video, asking her supporters in the background to get out of her shot and smiling to signal she is in on the joke. One of Steyer\u2019s staffers is alleged to have leaked the video of Porter\u2019s outburst. While it is typical for campaigns to dig up dirt on candidates, commonly known as \u201copposition research,\u201d Porter suggested to SFGATE that the leak could have broken federal law, as the video recording was the property of the federal Department of Energy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Porter told SFGATE that a week before the San Francisco debate, she told Steyer that the video leak \u201chad played into certain gendered views of women candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI never heard of this before she asked me about it [last week],\u201d Steyer told SFGATE. \u201cI have absolutely no idea, no interest. Look, her issues with her staff are for her to worry about. I have spent zero time worrying about her problems with her staff, and I\u2019m not going to start now.\u201d<\/p>\n Porter isn\u2019t the only woman to be criticized for and rumored to treat their staff poorly. Similar criticism followed Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Amy Klobuchar. In fact, a handful of both men and women senators and members of Congress have been called out<\/a> for high turnover of staff, according to data compiled by LegiStorm. (Porter isn\u2019t on LegiStorm\u2019s list.)<\/p>\n California gubernatorial candidate former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter looks on during a CNN California Governor Primary Debate at East Los Angeles College on May 5, 2026, in Monterey Park, Calif.<\/p>\n Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cI would just like to see a full-on treatment of every candidate\u2019s temperament if we think that\u2019s an important quality,\u201d Porter told SFGATE. \u201c… It\u2019s clearly something voters seem to think is important. I have not heard in the five debates the word \u2018temperament\u2019 be used with regard to any other candidate. I think that is because that\u2019s a word uniquely applied to women.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Stay informed, and entertained.<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use<\/a> and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Porter has been the lone woman in the race for a month (Yee suspended her campaign April 20). The other women\u2019s decisions to drop out (or not run, in the case of Harris) while all but one of the men remain is indicative of something, Porter told\u00a0SFGATE. She is still hovering around 10% in the polls \u2014 behind others, but still with a chance. She recently secured the endorsement of the San Francisco Chronicle\u2019s editorial board, which noted that Porter is known for \u201caggressive\u201d question-asking and for her \u201cinfamous yelling\u201d at a staffer, but said: \u201cBoth are superficial reasons to support or dismiss her candidacy.\u201d The board praised her evidence-based policy plans and track record in Congress. (The Chronicle and\u00a0SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.)<\/p>\n \u201cMost of my other campaigns had a woman in the race or a lot of them,\u201d Porter told SFGATE. She unseated Rep. Mimi Waters in Congress in Orange County and faced former Rep. Barbara Lee in the Senate race that Adam Schiff ultimately won.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis has been a very different dynamic to watch three qualified women exit and zero men, other than the one accused of sexual assault, exit,\u201d she continued. \u201cI think [that] has been telling.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Over the past three decades, Katie Porter hasn\u2019t changed much. 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