Rep. Katie Porter never planned for a career in politics, she says, that is, until Donald Trump became president in 2016.
But Tuesday night, the political career that she’s built since she won her first congressional race in 2019 — one where she’s gone toe-to-toe with corporate CEOs and established her prowess as a Democratic fundraiser — hit a bit of a snag. Not too long after election returns had begun to come in, both the Associated Press and the New York Times had called the primary for California’s U.S. Senate race for Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff and former Dodgers star Steve Garvey.
“While the votes are still coming in, we know that tonight we’ll come up short,” Porter told supporters at a Long Beach election night watch party not much later.
The Senate loss is surely a disappointment to Porter and her supporters, but it may not be the end of her political rope, experts say.
Despite spending a whopping $23.2 million in the Senate race — a paltry sum compared to Schiff’s $40 million, but significant nonetheless — she still has $4.8 million banked in her war chest.
See the latest election results.
The race for the seat in California’s 47th congressional district, which she still represents, is a tight and crowded contest with Republican Scott Baugh and Democratic state Sen. Dave Min with narrow leads.
Baugh, a former GOP Assembly leader, ran for the seat in 2022 as well, only narrowly losing to Porter by a few percentage points. Should he advance to the general election and win in November, that would open a path for Porter to vie for the seat again in two years, said Dan Schnur, a former campaign consultant who teaches political messaging at USC and UC Berkeley.
Of course, if a Democrat wins the race, that would prove to be more difficult.
Gov. Gavin Newsom terms out in early 2027, and there are already several contenders who have declared or are at least flirting with a bid to become California’s next chief executive.
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While some might consider that a possibility for Porter, Schnur believes a down-ticket statewide seat may be a better option.
“It’s difficult to go from a losing Senate campaign into a race for governor, but all of the other constitutional offices are up for election, too. Any one of them could end up being a logical next step,” Schnur said.
Porter “didnt really do much to distinguish herself” in the Senate race, Schnur said, “but she didn’t do herself any harm so there’s no reason that she couldn’t decide that another elected office is in her future.”
A former UC Irvine law professor, Porter could foray back into academia, said Democratic strategist Michael Trujillo.
“I honestly assume every university would love her to be a guest lecturer, a regular lecturer or a professor given that’s what she did before she ran for office. Katie Porter can legitimately do whatever the heck she wants and be amazing at it,” Trujillo said. (He was not involved with her U.S. Senate campaign and has never worked for her, Trujillo said.)
If she returns to UCI, that could solve another question involving her housing situation.
Porter resides in one of the below-market price homes on UCI land, provided only for UCI faculty and staff – something her critics have hammered her about since she is not teaching. After her reelection to the House in 2022, Porter, according to a university spokesperson, “requested and was granted two years of unpaid leave (from UCI) to cover her current congressional term, in keeping with university policy and precedent, congressional ethics rules, and relevant state and federal law.”
On Wednesday, university spokesperson Tom Vasich said Porter is still on academic leave, which means she can still reside in her home. He was not clear Wednesday if she could request another “leave” to remain in the home if she doesn’t return to teaching.
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Despite the loss, said Chapman University political science professor Fred Smoller, many people in government will recognize Porter’s political savvy.
“A second Biden administration would find something for her to do,” he said. “Maybe a cabinet position. She won’t be forgotten by future Democratic administrations.”
Talented people of her caliber don’t come around all the time in politics, he said, and that even Schiff should be an advocate of her talent.
Although Porter’s fundraising prowess will be recognized, Smoller said he doesn’t see Porter becoming a lobbyist or strictly being in a fundraising capacity — her political skills are too versatile to pigeonhole her in one area, he said.
“I don’t know what type of position it will be for her, but she will be involved in substantive policy work,” he said.
In 2018, Porter defeated two-term Republican incumbent Rep. Mimi Walters by 4.2 percentage points. Porter offered up a promise to her soon-to-be constituents then: “I will work to bring accountability back to Washington.”
On Tuesday night, dressed in blue, matching the blue and white signs her supporters hoisted behind her, Porter conceded the race.
She had a new, albeit less jubilant, promise to give.
“I will always be fighting for you,” Porter said.
Staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.
