Former Rep. Katie Porter, the 2026 gubernatorial candidate who has a slim edge within the polls, raised eyebrows Tuesday when footage emerged of her apparently ending a tv interview after turning into irritated by a reporter’s questions.
After Porter highlighted her expertise profitable a intently divided Orange County congressional district, she grew palpably irritated by Watts’ follow-up questions on her dismissiveness about needing help from voters who supported Trump.
“I feel like this is unnecessarily argumentative. What is your question?” Porter mentioned.
Porter mentioned she would search each vote she may win, however then grew testy over follow-up questions.
“I don’t want to keep doing this. I’m going to call it,” Porter mentioned, saying she objected to a number of follow-up questions. “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.”
She later mentioned, “I don’t want this all on camera.”
Porter, a protege of Mass. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, received election to Congress in 2018 and gained consideration for grilling executives and her use of a white board to clarify advanced insurance policies. The 51-year-old unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in 2024 and returned to educating legislation at UC Irvine.
On Tuesday evening, Porter’s marketing campaign mentioned that the interview continued for an extra 20 minutes after the heated alternate however didn’t supply additional remark.
The previous congresswoman’s Democratic rivals within the 2026 gubernatorial race seized on her feedback, and Democratic strategists not related to any candidate within the race additionally cringed.
“When you’re governor, you’re governor of everyone, not just the people in your party. It’s a bad look to say you don’t want or need votes from certain Californians, even those you really disagree with,” mentioned Elizabeth Ashford, who served as a strategist for Govs. Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger in addition to former Vice President Kamala Harris when she was the lawyer common of California.
“But, also, even good candidates have bad nights,” Ashford added. “This was a miss for Katie, but not every interview is going to go great.”
