Porter Enters Crowded Field for California Governor as Kamala Harris Weighs Run

Former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter launched her bid for California governor on Tuesday, hoping a promise of “fresh blood and new ideas” will help her overcome challenges that plagued her U.S. Senate campaign last year.

The 2026 field is already crowded with Democratic hopefuls, including former state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former State Controller Betty Yee.

Porter carries clear advantages into the race. She has a defined image forged through a hard-fought win for the Orange County seat in 2018. In Congress, she exhibited a penchant for grilling high-profile witnesses, such as JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield, in hearings on Capitol Hill.

And Porter has demonstrated the ability to raise the enormous sums needed for a statewide campaign.

In her Senate run, Porter faced challenges from the state’s political establishment and a political climate that didn’t align with her campaign’s focus. Porter’s bid for governor could depend on whether former Vice President Kamala Harris decides to run for the state’s top job.

In her announcement video, Porter argued the state is in need of “leaders with the backbone to fight for what is right.”

“As governor, I won’t ever back down when Trump hurts Californians,” Porter said. “We don’t have to choose between defending our values and tackling our challenges.”

In Orange County, Porter’s political superpower was her ability to win a swing district as a progressive. She defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Mimi Walters in 2018 and fended off successive GOP challenges in the highly contested Irvine-area seat. Central to Porter’s appeal to independents and swing voters is her willingness to question sacred cows on both sides of the aisle, including her push to end earmarks and ban lawmakers from trading stocks.

“She has a political brand,” said Darry Sragow, who managed gubernatorial campaigns for Dianne Feinstein and John Garamendi.

“She’s very smart, she’s very tough, she’s very strong, she’s outspoken and she’s authentic,” Sragow added. “She says what she means and she means what she says.”

In her announcement, Porter pledged to “bring all voices to the table to hear good ideas, no matter who they come from or what else we may agree or disagree on.”

“I’ll work with anybody, and I’ll say ‘no’ to anybody because I’ve never been for sale, and I never will be,” she added.

Porter’s independent streak and bomb-throwing style have also landed her in hot water with other Democrats at times. When she ran on a promise to “shake up the Senate,” former California Sen. Barbara Boxer said Porter was acting “holier-than-thou.”

Most elected Democrats and powerful labor groups endorsed fellow Reps. Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee. Schiff won the election easily.

Porter had to walk back comments that a pro-cryptocurrency group that spent heavily against her campaign was “spending millions to rig this election.” She was widely denounced by Democrats, who said her comments echoed the election-denying language of the Republican Party.

In recent decades, California Democrats have coalesced around statewide candidates squarely within the party establishment, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Gov. Jerry Brown, Harris and Schiff. According to Sragow, the deep connections to the party “certainly helped Jerry Brown, it helped Gray Davis, it helped Gavin Newsom — they were all well-credentialed as people who had held office,” Sragow said.

Gil Duran, a former adviser to California Democrats such as Brown, Harris and Feinstein, said the response to Trump by elected Democrats has opened up an opportunity for a candidate like Porter.

“I think after seeing most of the Democratic establishment hide under a rock for the last several months, I think people will be in the mood for some strong, bold, fierce leadership,” Duran said.

To break through as California’s first female governor, Porter will also need better luck in whatever issues come to dominate the 2026 campaign. In the Senate race, Porter’s focus on fighting corruption and challenging the systems of Washington didn’t align with voters’ concerns about the re-emergence of Trump and the Israel-Hamas war.

It’s unclear whether Porter, who worked under Harris in the California Department of Justice, and other Democrats will remain in the race or seek other statewide offices if Harris jumped in. Duran said candidates who show that kind of deference “are not suited to be California governor.”

“It’s a tough job,” he said. “If Kamala Harris maybe getting in is enough for you to throw in the towel, then go be treasurer.”