Katie Porter, front runner for California Governor, has fiery exchange with reporter

[Shrek]

9. Her rivals seem to sense an opening

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/08/katie-porter-cbs-interview

After CBS published the interview, several of Porter’s rivals criticized her response.

“I’m not interested in excluding any vote,” Xavier Becerra, the former health and human services secretary, wrote on X, sharing a clip of his interview with the same reporter asking him the same question. “Every Californian deserves affordable healthcare, safe streets, a roof over their head and a living wage.”

“We need a leader who will solve hard problems and answer simple questions,” said Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Los Angeles mayor and a Democrat running for governor. He also shared his interview with Watts.

The California state superintendent, Tony Thurmond, a Democrat, said this was “a pattern for Porter” and asked Watts to moderate a debate among the Democratic candidates in the race.

“If she can’t answer basic questions from a reporter, how can Californians expect her to stand up to President Trump?” he wrote on X.

“Katie Porter doesn’t have the temperament to be governor,” the former state controller Betty Yee, a Democrat, said.