Former California Congresswoman Katie Porter, a progressive Democrat who gained fame on social media for her fiery take-downs of Republicans and corporate executives, raised the odds that California will elect its first female governor with her Tuesday announcement that she is running to replace Gavin Newsom as governor in 2026.
Porter’s announcement shakes up what could be a historic race for governor. Of at least six other Democrats and one Republican who have officially entered the field, Porter is the most prominent name, fresh off a statewide U.S. Senate campaign that she lost to fellow Democrat Adam Schiff — but in which she raised an impressive $32 million.
“She’s a force,” said San Jose State University political science professor emeritus Larry Gerston. “There’s no other way to look at it.”
But the field still remains in question amid speculation around former Vice President and Oakland native Kamala Harris, who will reportedly make her decision on whether to join the governor’s race by summer’s end.
Early polling has shown Porter leading the pack of candidates — if Harris doesn’t run. If the ex-Vice President does jump into the race, Porter has signaled she’ll exit.
Gerston and other political analysts say Porter is a strong candidate who could mount a serious campaign. Beyond her significant name recognition and ability to fundraise vast sums, Porter’s candidacy makes it even more likely that voters could elect the first female governor in California history.
On the Democratic side of the race, former state Sen. Toni Atkins, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and former state controller Betty Yee — all women — also are vying to break California’s glass ceiling.
The Golden State is one of 18 states nationally that have never elected a female governor, said David McCuan, professor of political science at Sonoma State University. He said Kounalakis and Porter are particularly competitive candidates who could change that — along with Harris, should she decide to run.
The field is evenly split between men and women so far.
Four men have officially declared their candidacies so far. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, entrepreneur Stephen Cloobeck and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, all Democrats, have entered the race. So has Republican Chad Bianco, the current sheriff of Riverside County. After years of hints and speculation that he would run, Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta bowed out of the race last month.
The race is “very crowded for female candidates,” Gerston said, but he believes Porter picked the right time to run.
Porter led the field of declared and potential candidates in a Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll in November, with 13%, nearly twice the 7% support for the next highest Democrats, Kounalakis and Villaraigosa. That field didn’t include Harris, but asked separately about Harris if she were to run, 33% of respondents said they’d support her.
Similarly, in an Emerson College poll in February, 57% said they’d support Harris, while 9% would back Porter and 4% Villaraigosa or Kounalakis.
Gerston said Porter will be bolstered by her reputation as a consumer protection advocate at a time when voters are fed up with inflation and the cost of living — from housing to the wildfire-related insurance crisis.
Porter was elected to represent a swath of Orange County in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, and left office in January. A law professor with degrees from Harvard and Yale, Porter quickly rose to prominence for her methodical take-downs of pharmaceutical and oil executives with the aid of her trusty whiteboard.
Though that campaign likely raised her profile among California voters, her decision not to run for reelection in her Orange County swing district drew behind-the-scenes frustration from Democrats who campaigned hard to keep the seat, and her Senate campaign caused “bad blood” within the party, McCuan said.
But even with those limitations, Porter has a “clear lane” in the race, according to McCuan: her stalwart opposition to President Donald Trump.
“Porter will take the tact that California is the center of the universe against Trump,” he said. “She owns that space.”
In her announcement video posted Tuesday on X, Porter takes direct aim at Trump and his allies, including billionaire Elon Musk.
“What we need is new ideas, and the willingness to take on dangerous leaders,” Porter says, as the video flashes images of Trump, Musk and Republican leaders in Congress.
“As governor, I won’t ever back down when Trump hurts Californians — whether he’s holding up disaster relief, attacking our rights or our communities or screwing over working families to benefit himself and his cronies,” Porter adds.
That’s a notable message at a time when California Democrats are trying to toe the line between criticizing Trump and seeking to work with his administration.
Newsom, who is expected to run for president in 2028, has recently taken a more conciliatory approach and made overtures to conservatives as he seeks billions of dollars of federal relief for victims of the January firestorm in Los Angeles.
In the state Legislature, Democratic lawmakers say they’re more focused on the cost of living than opposing Trump this year. However, state Democrats recently passed $50 million to fund lawsuits against the Trump administration and defend immigrants from deportation — plans initially billed as “Trump-proofing” California.
Jessica Millan Patterson, chairwoman of the California GOP, said Porter’s attacks on Trump are misdirected.
“California already has a governor more focused on Trump-proofing the state than fixing the problems that plague it,” she said in an email, “and they don’t need another.”