Katie Porter's ''unhappy experience'' in a viral interview has become the news cycle from hell.The bipartisan pile-on following the widely-circulated clip of her contentious sit-down with a local CBS news reporter was only hours old when a new video surfaced from POLITICO of the former House member berating a staffer in 2021 — the two clips fueling long-simmering concerns about her temperament and judgment.
Together, they suddenly boiled over into the broader political zeitgeist, raising questions about just how durable Porter's lead in Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,'s gubernatorial race really is.
''Is this a disaster? Yes,'' said Gale Kaufman, a veteran Democratic strategist based in Sacramento. ''And the reason it's a disaster is because it amplifies what her reputation already is.''
Porter's Democratic rivals, smelling blood in the water, quickly seized on the former congresswoman's wince-worthy television appearance. Antonio Villaraigosa took the unusual step of purchasing three-minute ads in the Sacramento market to run the entirety of Porter's tense exchange with CBS reporter Julie Watts. Stephen J. Cloobeck released a digital ad knocking Porter for past inflammatory comments. Xavier Becerra and Tony Thurmond highlighted their own, less-incendiary, responses to Watts' questions. And Betty Yee called on Porter to drop out.
''As the last viable female candidate in this race, it matters to me that California's first female governor be a trusted, respected leader we can all be proud of — not a viral embarrassment,'' Yee said in a statement. ''Women in politics are still held to higher standards, and Katie Porter has clearly failed that test.''
On Wednesday, the Porter campaign dismissed the effect of the episodes on her frontrunner status.
''Californians are hungry for a governor who they trust can fight for them against Trump,'' Peter Opitz, a campaign spokesperson, said in a statement. ''They know from her work taking on powerful interests in Washington that Katie is never going to be shy about calling out bullshit, and that is why every poll shows Katie firmly in the lead.''
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