Katie Porter thought she could waltz into the California governor’s race without breaking a sweat.
A simple question from a reporter changed everything.
And Katie Porter had one meltdown during this interview that exposed her biggest weakness.
Porter storms out when asked about Trump voters
Former Democrat Representative Katie Porter is running to replace termed-out Governor Gavin Newsom in California’s 2025 gubernatorial race.
The 51-year-old lawyer wants to become the Golden State’s first-ever female governor.
But Porter ran into a buzzsaw when CBS News California Investigates journalist Julie Watts asked her a basic question about her electoral strategy.
"What do you say to the 40 percent of California voters, who you’ll need in order to win, who voted for [President Donald] Trump?" Watts asked during the September interview.
That’s when Porter completely lost her cool.
"How would I need them in order to win, ma’am?" Porter shot back, clearly annoyed that anyone would dare challenge her political math.
Porter chuckled for the camera but you could see the frustration building behind her eyes.
She tried to pivot by claiming she could easily pick up the remaining 60 percent of non-Trump voters in California.
"I have stood on my own two feet and won Republican votes before, and that’s not something every candidate in this race can say," Porter insisted, referencing her time representing "purple" Orange County in Congress.
But Watts wasn’t buying Porter’s spin.
"But you just said you don’t need those Trump voters," the reporter countered.
That’s when Porter completely melted down.
The moment Porter’s campaign strategy fell apart
Porter threw up her hands in indignation and accused the interview of becoming "unnecessarily argumentative."
You had to see this to believe it.
Here’s a woman who wants to run the nation’s largest state, and she can’t handle basic follow-up questions from a local news reporter.
When Watts explained that she used the same questions and methodology with all gubernatorial candidates, Porter had enough.
"I don’t want to keep doing this, I’m going to call it. Thank you," Porter snapped.
She actually reached for the microphone pinned to her lapel and tried to remove it while lecturing the reporter about her interview methods.
"You’re not gonna do the interview with us?" Watts asked.
"Nope. Not like this, I’m not. Not with seven follow-ups to every single question you ask," Porter shot back.
The two eventually agreed to continue and finish the segment, but the damage was done.
Porter’s true colors came shining through – and they weren’t pretty.
Porter’s electoral math doesn’t add up
Look, here’s what Porter doesn’t want to admit about California politics.
Trump received over 6 million votes in California during the 2024 election – that’s 40 percent of the total vote in a state Democrats consider their safe space.
Any serious gubernatorial candidate needs to understand they can’t just ignore 40 percent of the electorate and expect to waltz into the governor’s mansion.
But Porter’s response revealed something much worse than bad electoral math.
It exposed a candidate who gets rattled when challenged and throws tantrums when reporters do their job.
California already had one governor who couldn’t handle pressure – remember when Newsom nearly got recalled because voters were fed up with his lockdown hypocrisy?
The last thing Californians need is another thin-skinned politician who melts down at the first sign of adversity.
Porter lost her bid for the U.S. Senate to Adam Schiff last year, which should tell you everything about her political instincts.
Now she’s facing Republican challengers including Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News host Steve Hilton.
You can bet they won’t be as patient with Porter’s attitude as that CBS reporter was.
If Porter can’t handle basic questions about her electoral strategy, how is she going to handle the real challenges that come with running California?
The answer became crystal clear during that interview – she can’t.
California voters deserve better than a candidate who storms out when the going gets tough.
¹ Simon Kent, "Watch: Katie Porter, Democrat Candidate for California Governor, Gets Testy, Threatens to Flee Interview," Breitbart, October 8, 2025.
