Political strategists are raising questions about California gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter’s campaign to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) after an unflattering interview resurfaced this week. 

In the CBS appearance, a palpably irritated Porter, viewed as the front-runner among six Democrats vying for the primary win, was scrutinized for threatening to end what she called an “unhappy” interview when pressed on whether she believes she needs the support of Republican voters to win the race. Porter’s odds of winning the primary tanked by 20 percentage points, according to some betting markets, and analysts widely agreed it was a “bad night” for the candidate, as critics accused her of partisan, entitled, and generally unlikable behavior. 

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Strategists across the board told the Washington Examiner that “one bad interview” isn’t likely a “game-changer” for the race. 

But Elizabeth Ashford, a Los Angeles-based strategist who was chief of staff to former Vice President Kamala Harris during her during her time as California attorney general, suggested that while she doesn’t see the interview as “a deal breaker moment at all,” campaigns will jump at the opportunity to leverage such incidents “anytime you have, you know, a human moment.”  She added that it could send Porter’s campaign spinning.

All five of Porter’s Democratic rivals, as well as Republican challenger Steve Hilton, used the incident as an opportunity to dig into Porter’s lead, issuing statements attacking her for “being afraid to answer simple questions,” “hiding from the press,” and “excluding any votes.” 

Padilla waits in the wings

And lingering doubts about Porter’s candidacy could aid liberal momentum to push Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) into the race, spelling danger for her in the crowded primary battle to win voters. Padilla’s entrance into the race as a left-wing Democrat would likely pose the greatest threat to Porter’s base, as she is viewed as one of the more liberal candidates campaigning.

“If the Democratic leadership doesn’t think that Katie Porter is ready for prime time, [then there is] the push to get Padilla to enter the race,” Republican strategist Matt Clink told the Washington Examiner. “He could immediately become a front row.” 

“Katie Porter is clearly running far left of center,” he said. “So I think Padilla could come in and he’s got a carpet niche that would be left of center.” 

Padilla enjoys comparable name recognition to Porter, which strategists have said is the primary reason she’s considered the front-runner. He also made headlines in June when he was detained during a press conference with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, garnering him support from liberals frustrated by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Open primary threatens Porter’s hold

Challenges from Padilla and other rumored Democratic contenders, such as businessman Rick Caruso, might not be a problem if it weren’t for California’s open primary system.

In that structure, candidates for governor, regardless of their political party, are listed on the same ballot — with the top two candidates proceeding to the general election. The vote is already split between seven candidates, bringing the total to nine if Padilla and Caruso hop in. That means there’s an ever-shrinking slice of voters for the crowded field of contenders to vie for.

Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff suggested that if controversy over Porter’s likeability and media style persists, he believes “it can turn into a larger narrative in this primary,” giving rivals such as former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Beccera a boost. 

“I do see [the CBS interview] perhaps not being a big deal,” he said. “At the same time, now, if there’s  several other more current examples of this, where she continues to have moments like that, I do think it can turn into a larger narrative in this primary, especially because it is a competitive primary.”

Hours after Shroff made the comments, more footage of Porter losing it during a media interview resurfaced, adding fuel to the fire. The gubernatorial candidate is seen yelling, “Get out of my f***ing shot!” at a staff member who wandered into the background of an interview video she was recording, in resurfaced clips obtained by Politico. 

For Democrats disillusioned by Porter, “there are other options here, and there’s still time,” Shroff said of alternatives, arguing that the race remains wide open as the primary election remains eight months away. 

Clink suggested that the open primary system spells warning signs for Porter’s belief that she can pull off a win without the help of any Republican voters. 

“She’s assuming that she makes it through the open primary to get into a general election, and then she can ignore Republican voters, but that’s a big assumption on her part,” he said, adding she has only “focused Republican attention that OK, we know who they will never vote for Katie Porter now.”

“Let’s say you only have two Republican candidates and you have seven or eight Democratic candidates. Let’s say that the two Republican candidates split the Republican vote, and let’s say that the seven Democratic candidates split the Democratic vote. It’s not inconceivable that the top two finishers in the primary could be Republicans. If you just do simple math … I don’t think that it’s likely, but mathematically, it works,” Clink said.

While nearly 40% of Californians voted for President Donald Trump on the Republican side in the 2024 election, Porter has expressed full confidence that she can emerge as the victor in the governor’s race next year because she believes most Democrats will coalesce behind her candidacy in the primary and leave the general election to her and a Republican candidate. With the state leaning majority-Democrat, Porter believes she can pull off a win. 

When asked what she would do if the race ended up between her and another Democrat, in which case the winning candidates would need to secure support of some moderates and Republicans, Porter replied, “I don’t intend that to be the case. … I’m going to build the support. I have the support already in terms of name recognition.”

Another Harris crash?

Porter’s CBS interview also raised concerns about the likability factor in the gubernatorial race, similar to the scrutiny Harris triggered during the media interviews she granted during her 2024 presidential campaign. 

Shroff warned the CBS kerfuffle was “not really a one-off,” pointing to other public incidents in which Porter has struggled to manage her public image, including when she lost the Senate primary last year to Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and accused him of rigging the election.

“I remember she kind of left on such a sour note in her race against Adam Schiff,” he said. “And definitely interesting to … make the point that if she’s willing to do that on camera with a journalist from CBS … what is she like behind the scenes? And I think we kind of have a glimpse of that from several other episodes and moments.” 

Of comparisons between Porter and Harris in the wake of the CBS debacle, Clink suggested it would be unwise for the gubernatorial candidate to follow the former vice president’s lead of avoiding the press when it comes to building rapport with voters.

“Porter’s next few interviews are going to be heavily scrutinized, and I think that she would be wise to do the opposite of what Kamala Harris did. She should get out and do as many interviews as possible so that she buries the bad CBS interview with decent interviews with other reporters,” Clink said. 

Not the strongest candidate: Critics pounce on Porter

As Porter tries to recoup her image, her challengers are pouncing on the CBS debacle as an opportunity to argue to voters that she’s not a strong candidate. 

Villaraigosa attacked his rival for trying to exit the tough interview. 

“We need a governor who will work to solve hard problems and who is not afraid to answer simple questions. You can’t just throw up your hands and refuse to answer as Katie Porter did,” he told the Washington Examiner. “California faces a lot of big problems, and voters deserve a leader who will answer the questions and speak the truth about how to solve them.”

In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Hilton made a dig at Porter for saying she didn’t “need” Trump voters to become California governor.

“Every day, I’m on the road meeting Californians from every background and political stripe. As governor, I’ll serve every citizen of this state—whether they voted for the President or not, whether they vote for me or not. It’s not about what the politicians ‘need,’ California needs a governor focused on improving people’s lives, not another career politician looking out for political insiders and allies. And I’m certainly not afraid to talk to the media about it,” the Republican candidate said. 

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Clink believes that at the end of the day, Porter’s front-runner status at the head of a stack of nearly 10 candidates is “all well and good” over a year before the election, but all it does is put a big target on your back.” 

“For Katie Porter, I think it just highlights the fact that she has very thin skin,” he said. “She’s a very good politician, but she’s not a very good retail politician.”