California gubernatorial candidates are using two recently released videos of Democratic front-runner Katie Porter flashing her temper at a staffer and lashing out at a reporter to boost their own campaigns in the 2026 race.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has been looking for a breakout moment, began airing 3-minute ads on Thursday that captured the testy exchange between Porter and CBS Sacramento reporter Julie Watts. At the end of the message, Villaraigosa said, “I’m Antonio Villaraigosa. I approve this ad because we need leaders who will solve hard problems and will answer simple questions.”
Porter, who was leading the crowded pack of candidates vying to be California’s next governor, was doing a routine interview with Watts when things went off the rails. Watts asked Porter what she would say to the nearly 6.1 million Californians who voted for President Donald Trump in 2024. Porter, a University of California, Irvine law professor, responded that she didn’t need their support if she ran against a Republican in the runoff election to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), who will be termed out of office.
Porter highlighted how she flipped Orange County when she ran for Congress, but became increasingly irritated with Watts, who asked follow-up questions and pressed her on her dismissiveness about needing support from Trump voters.
Porter accused Watts of being unnecessarily argumentative and eventually said, “I don’t want to keep doing this. I’m going to call it.”
“I want to have a pleasant, positive conversation. … And if every question you’re going to make up a follow-up question, then we’re never going to get there,” Porter added.
Businessman Stephen J. Cloobeck got in on the Porter bashing, spending $200,000 on broadcast and digital ads that splice clips of himself and Porter being interviewed by Watts.
“She snaps at reporters. I snap when the customers of California get shortchanged on what they bargained for,” Cloobeck wrote on Instagram. “That’s the difference in our priorities.”
Another Democratic candidate, former Biden administration health secretary Xavier Becerra, also got in on the digs, linking Porter’s interview on X. He wrote: “I’m not interested in excluding any vote. Every Californian deserves affordable health care, safe streets, a roof over their head and a living wage.”
Former state controller Betty Yee, who has been polling consistently in the single digits, called on Porter to end her campaign following the contentious interview.
“Katie Porter is a weak, self-destructive candidate unfit to lead California,” Yee said on X. “The stakes are simply too high for her to stay in this race.”
The Porter controversy could also help motivate other Democratic candidates to enter the race, like Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), who has not ruled out a run, San Francisco-based police expert Ben McKelvey told the Washington Examiner.
“Senator Padilla has experience winning statewide elections, and his name recognition gives him an advantage over the dozens of other candidates in the race,” McKelvey said. “He could give Porter a run for her money.”
On the Republican side, candidate Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host gaining ground in the polls, also swiped at Porter’s recent missteps, telling the Washington Examiner that, unlike Porter, he’s “certainly not afraid to talk to the media.”
A day after the CBS interview, Politico released a video of Porter screaming at a staffer, who had interrupted a July 2021 meeting with the former House member, who was taping for the Biden administration.
“Get out of my f—ing shot!” Porter said after the employee came into view. When the staffer said she was trying to correct a statement Porter made about electric vehicles, Porter reprimanded the employee.
“You also were in my shot before that,” Porter snapped. “Stay out of my shot!”
While Porter’s behavior has raised eyebrows, political experts told the Washington Examiner that she isn’t likely to be “canceled.”
“We see Becerra, Yee, and other Dems in this fairly crowded primary pouncing on the video so in a short-term sense it benefits them and, frankly, gets some of them coverage they may otherwise struggle to earn — since this is a viral story,” Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff said. “Still, much as some folks want to make this the story that brings Porter down, I’m not sure it will stick.”
Shroff told the Washington Examiner that there is “an element of being in a post-personal scandal political era.”
“People care about policy outcomes and a larger partisan agenda, not if someone had an affair, for example, or is too mean,” he said.
KATIE PORTER’S ‘UNHAPPY’ INTERVIEW THREATENS LEAD IN CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR RACE
Porter said, “It’s no secret I hold myself and my staff to a higher standard, and that was especially true as a member of Congress. I have sought to be more intentional in showing gratitude to my staff for their important work.”
Porter used those same words in a 2023 Washington Post feature when asked to respond to multiple allegations that she was an “unfit” and difficult boss.
