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Former Orange County Councilman Katie Porter is the newest politician to take part in a competitive 2026 race for California governors. All eyes are on former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Katie Porter, a former member of the Democratic Congress in Orange County, has become a progressive star after intense interrogation at a committee hearing, but is running for governor of California.
After months of hinting that she was going to run, Porter today officially launched her 2026 governor’s campaign, and in a video posted on social media, she touted her independence from the profits of the company and her independence from Lambestes’ Donald Trump.
“I first ran to the office to hold Trump accountable, Porter said in the video. “As governor, when Trump hurts Californians, I never retreat. He embraces disaster relief, attacks our rights, attacks our community, ruins working families and benefits myself and his peers.”
Her announcement follows just a year after her failed bid for the US Senate. The race ended badly when Porter, who called the election “equipped by billionaires,” received heavy criticism.
However, the nationwide exposure helped her to instantly run through and replace her with the Gavin Newsom government.
Several independent polls since last fall show Porter clearly leading the other expected governor candidates released. She also starts with more than $1.4 million left from the Senate campaign, but the governor’s competition could ultimately require tens of millions of dollars in funding.
Porter, who turned his Republican seat in 2018, left Congress in January after three terms and returned to education at UC Irvine Law School.
Porter aims to protect Californians from Trump
She promotes “fresh blood and new ideas”, but her platform is very suitable for details. In her launch video for her campaign, Porter protects abortion rights, LGBTQ rights, the immigrant community and mentions that she will never forgive people with big banks, big pharma or big oil screws.
“I’ve been motivated to this point: to make Californians better,” she said. “And I go to the toes with those who try to hurt Californians because that means having the courage to solve our toughest problems.”
Focusing on the ongoing ideological and political clashes between California and the federal government could position Porter as the state’s leading anti-Trump voice to curry favor with the president to ensure federal disaster aid for the January devastating January fire in Los Angeles. Less than a third of adults have approved Trump in the California Democrats.
It leaps towards the imagination of personal and comprehensive biographies with the directors of major Democratic candidates, Lt. Col. Eleni Kunarakis, former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigoza, former Senate Speaker Pro Tem Toni Atkins, public leader Tony Thurmond and former controller Betty Yi.
Attorney General Rob Bonta, who has already sued more than half a dozen new Trump administration, recently announced he would abandon the governor’s run and seek re-election.
Candidates wait for Harris’ decision
However, there is a possibility that former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump in November, could still enter the big loom. Politico reported last week that Harris is expected to decide whether she will run for governor by this summer. This is a decision that is likely to drive other candidates out of the race due to the benefits of fundraising and name ID.
The June 2026 gubernatorial primary is a public election in which the top two candidates will be leaked, regardless of their affiliation with the party. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a moderate Democrat from Republican and founder of the Timeshare Company, Stephen Crubeck, is among the other announced candidates.
