Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., defended comments Wednesday claiming the California Senate primary—in which she lost to Rep. Adam Schiff—had been “rig[ged]” against her by an “onslaught of billionaires,” after the lawmaker came under fire from the left for repeating language used by former President Donald Trump as he challenged the 2020 election results.
Rep. Katie Porter waves at supporters at an election night party on March 5, in Long Beach, Calif.
Porter, a progressive who only won 14% of the vote as of Wednesday night, said in a statement Wednesday afternoon thanking her supporters that her campaign “had the establishment running scared” and “withst[ood] … an onslaught of billionaires spending millions to rig this election.”
Her comments garnered pushback on social media, with Democratic strategist Steve Schale asking, “Can we stop trying to excuse every loss with the term ‘rig’ or rigged?’” and attorney Ari Cohn telling Porter she’s “shameful for insinuating that anything you don't like in a campaign is an attempt to "rig" the election.”
Porter released a second statement Wednesday night defending her comments, saying “‘rigged’ means manipulated by dishonest means” and that billionaires spending $10 million on false attack ads against her constitutes using “dishonest means to manipulate an outcome.”
Trump and his supporters have repeatedly described the 2020 election as being “rigged” against him and subject to voter fraud—which there is no credible evidence to support.
Porter’s statement is referring to spending by super PAC Fairshake in the California race, as the cryptocurrency-focused PAC—backed by billionaire supporters that include Marc Andreessen, Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss—spent at least $10 million opposing Porter in the primary, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Porter’s campaign was also likely affected by a strategy Schiff employed to run ads highlighting Steve Garvey, the leading GOP candidate in the race, in order to elevate him and knock Porter out of the race, in which the top two candidates advance to the general election regardless of party.
“I said ‘rigged by billionaires’ and our politics are—in fact—manipulated by big dark money,” Porter said in her statement Wednesday defending her comments. “Defending democracy means calling that out. At no time have I ever undermined the vote count and election process in CA, which are beyond reproach.”
Schiff and Garvey, a former baseball player, will face off in the general election after finishing first and second, respectively, in the primary election on Super Tuesday. Given California’s largely Democratic population, Schiff is heavily favored to win.
What Porter will do next, as the lawmaker had to give up her House seat in order to run for Senate.
$28 million. That’s how much Porter’s Senate campaign raised as of mid-February, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission, while a PAC supporting her candidacy raised $620,000. Schiff’s campaign raised a slightly higher $31.4 million, while pro-Schiff PAC Standing Strong raised $2.7 million. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., who finished behind Porter in the primary, raised $5 million for her campaign, with a PAC supporting her candidacy garnering $1.5 million. Garvey’s campaign only raised $2.1 million.
California’s Senate race will determine who takes over the open Senate seat left after longtime Sen. Dianne Feinstein died in Sept. 2023. Porter entered the Senate race even before Feinstein’s death in Jan. 2023, when Feinstein had come under criticism for still serving despite health issues and her advanced age, but had not yet said whether she would run for reelection. Porter said at the time she wanted to “hold so-called leaders like [Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell [R-Ky.] accountable for rigging our democracy,” after the lawmaker gained national attention in the House for using a whiteboard during House hearings and other viral moments. Schiff also entered the race prior to Feinstein’s death, and has long led in the polls. Porter’s loss in the Senate primary comes after the lawmaker only narrowly won reelection in 2022, winning 51.7% of the vote in the swing district she represents.