Former Rep. Katie Porter’s (D-Calif.) Democratic rivals in California’s gubernatorial race slammed her response to a question about what she would say to the state’s voters who voted for President Trump in last year’s election.
In an interview with CBS News that has gone viral, Porter was asked what she would say to the 40 percent of voters in the state who supported Trump, to which she asked how she would need them to win. As the interview went on, Porter became visibility agitated and went as far as trying to end the video.
Porter’s opponents were quick to criticize the front-runner’s response in the sitdown interview.
“I’m not interested in excluding any vote. Every Californian deserves affordable health care, safe streets, a roof over their head and a living wage,” said former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, who included a clip of his interview with the same reporter asking him the same question.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) also took to X, writing “we need a leader who will solve hard problems and answer simple questions.”
California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, who is also running for governor, took a more direct line of attack on Porter.
“This is a pattern for [Katie Porter]. No candidate for Governor should hide from the press or mistreat them — we owe it to the public to be transparent,” he wrote on X. “If she can’t answer basic questions from a reporter, how can Californians expect her to stand up to President Trump?”
The fallout over the viral interview comes as Porter leads the race for governor in the Golden State. According to a poll from the University of California, Berkeley released in late August, Porter led the crowded field of Democrats with 17 percent support.
Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco came in with 10 percent support while Democratic former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra received 9 percent.
Each of nine other candidates on both sides of the aisle earned 6 percent or less.
In California’s nonpartisan system, the top two candidates move on from the primary to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.
However, 38 percent of voters remain undecided in the race, more than twice the share that picked Porter.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates California’s governors race as “solid Democratic.”
