Katie Porter, the former Democratic congresswoman from Irvine who ran for U.S. Senate and lost in the primary in 2024, is running for governor of California, she announced in a video Tuesday.
Porter joins an already crowded field for the 2026 election to succeed the termed-out Gavin Newsom.
“What California needs now is a little bit of hope and a whole lot of grit, fresh blood and new ideas, leaders with the backbone to fight for what’s right,” Porter said in a video announcing her campaign. “That’s why I am running for governor.”
She also said she wants to protect California from policies set by President Donald Trump, who has threatened to withhold disaster relief and, Porter said, imperiled “working families to benefit himself and his cronies.”
Porter is the latest prominent candidate to join the race.
Other hopefuls include Liet. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis; former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; state Controller Betty Yee; state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond; former state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins; and businessman Stephen Cloobeck — all Democrats — as well as Republican Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff.
One candidate who has not yet entered the race is former Vice President Kamala Harris. She has said she would make her decision at the end of the summer. Her name recognition and fundraising success could make her a favorite.
Porter said in December, at a post-election conference at UC Irvine, that if Harris joined the race, it would prompt some Democrats to drop out.
“If Vice President Harris were to choose to run, I am certain that that would have a near field-clearing effect on the Democratic side,” Porter said.
Porter, 51, served three terms in the House but did not seek re-election in 2024. Instead, she ran for the U.S. Senate seat won by Adam Schiff. Porter returned to teaching at UC Irvine’s law school.
Bianco released a statement Tuesday attacking Porter shortly after she announced her candidacy.
“Katie Porter is a failed progressive Democrat with a history of supporting policies that increased inflation, grocery, gas and energy prices,” Bianco said in a statement released by his campaign.
“She is cut from the same cloth of the failed career politicians who created California’s cost-of-living crisis. We cannot expect the same people who created this mess to get us out of it. Californians deserve so much better.”