Democrat former Representative Katie Porter, who is running for California governor, experienced a bizarre meltdown during a pre-recorded interview with CBS Sacramento affiliate KOVR-TV reporter Julie Watts. The clip, released Monday and went viral on Tuesday, captures an unusual moment in the ongoing gubernatorial race.
Porter served three terms in Congress from 2019 to 2025 before leaving her House seat to run an unsuccessful Senate campaign in the 2024 jungle primary. She gained national recognition during her time in the House for her use of a whiteboard in hearings. Currently, Porter is the leading candidate for governor, polling around 20 percent support in a crowded field comprising Democrats, Republicans, third-party candidates, and independents.
Julie Watts interviewed eleven candidates vying in next year’s jungle primary for governor, scheduled for June 2, 2026. In California’s top-two primary system, the two candidates with the highest votes, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election on November 3, 2026. Each candidate was asked the same questions during the interviews.
Porter’s meltdown occurred when she was asked if she needed the votes of the roughly 40 percent of Californians who voted for President Donald Trump the previous year. A preview of her interview released in mid-September showed Porter laughing at the suggestion that she would require any Trump supporters’ votes to win. However, in the longer segment released Monday, her demeanor shifted dramatically.
During the interview, Porter became visibly frustrated, at one point raising her hands toward reporter Watts, and threatened to end the interview, saying, “I don’t want to have an unhappy experience with you and I don’t want this on camera.” Watts attempted to calm Porter, expressing that she also wanted the interaction to remain positive.
The exchange was described as bizarre, likened to a scene from a movie where a nurse tries to pacify an agitated patient in a psychiatric ward before violence erupts. Adding to the unusual context, a 2023 New York Post report detailed allegations from Porter’s ex-husband, who filed for divorce in 2013 and accused her of an incident where she poured scalding hot mashed potatoes over his head during an argument.
Meanwhile, Republican candidates hope to make the governor’s race competitive in California, a traditionally Democratic stronghold. A recent poll conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, and The Los Angeles Times found that a significant number of voters remain undecided.
The poll revealed no candidate holds a clear majority, but Porter leads with 17 percent support. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco follows with 10 percent, and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra garners 9 percent. Conservative commentator Steve Hilton holds 6 percent, while two other Democrats—former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and businessman Rick Caruso, who has yet to formally announce a campaign—each receive around 4 percent. Notably, 38 percent of respondents remain undecided.
An earlier August poll by the Citrin Center/Politico showed Porter at 21 percent, Bianco at 15 percent, Hilton at 10 percent, and both Becerra and Villaraigosa at 9 percent.
More recently, Emerson College released a new poll on September 19, confirming Porter’s lead with 16 percent support. The poll also showed Republican Steve Hilton at 10 percent, Republican Sheriff Chad Bianco at 8 percent, and Becerra at 5 percent. The plurality of voters, 38 percent, are still undecided. Since August, support for Porter and Hilton has decreased by two points each, while Bianco and Becerra have seen small increases.
Porter’s meltdown interview emerged just one day after she received an endorsement from the pro-abortion PAC Emily’s List.
An excerpt from the full candidate interviews report by Julie Watts for KOVR sheds light on Porter’s reaction during the interview. Although she was the only candidate to refuse to directly answer whether she needed Republican votes, she questioned the premise itself.
“How would I need them in order to win?” Porter asked. “If it is me versus a Republican, I think that I will win the people who did not vote for Trump.”
Watts and several of Porter’s opponents have pointed out that, due to California’s top-two open primary system, Republican voters could play a crucial role in helping a Democratic candidate secure a spot in the general election.
Despite taking issue with repeated follow-up questions and threatening to call off the interview, Porter ultimately stayed and continued responding to the questions presented.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/10/katie-porter-has-bizarre-meltdown-during-california-governor/