Democratic Rep. Katie Porter (Calif.) announced on Tuesday that she would be running for California's U.S. Senate seat in 2024, calling herself "a warrior" who would "stand up to special interests, fight the dangerous imbalance in our economy, and hold so-called leaders like Mitch McConnell accountable for rigging our democracy."
With a national profile bolstered by viral moments of her straightforward interrogations during House committee hearings, Porter has also shown herself to be a prolific party fundraiser who narrowly held her formerly Republican-stronghold seat in the 2022 midterms elections that saw the GOP regain control of the House. Though her announcement has ensured she is the first to make a move for Feinstein's seat in 2024, Porter is widely expected to be challenged by fellow California Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Ro Khanna in a state that crucially does not hold party-based primaries.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Reacting to Porter's announcement, Khanna issued a terse statement saying that "right now California is facing severe storms and floods, and my district is facing historic weather conditions. My focus is on that. In the next few months, I will make a decision." Citing a "person close to Schiff," Los Angeles Times congressional reporter Nolan McCaskill described the mood in Schiff's camp as similarly focusing on California's ongoing weather crisis, with the source adding that the congressman is "not running for Senate in the middle of a natural disaster where people are dead."
-
We Did OK, Kid: Anthony Hopkins’ candid memoir is a ‘page-turner’The Week Recommends The 87-year-old recounts his journey from ‘hopeless’ student to Oscar-winning actor
-
The Mushroom Tapes: a compelling deep dive into the trial that gripped AustraliaThe Week Recommends Acclaimed authors team up for a ‘sensitive and insightful’ examination of what led a seemingly ordinary woman to poison four people
-
Turner: The Secret Sketchbooks – a fascinating portrait of the great painterThe Week Recommends BBC2 documentary examines the rarely seen sketchbooks of the enigmatic artist
-
US government shutdown: why the Democrats ‘caved’In the Spotlight The recent stalemate in Congress could soon be ‘overshadowed by more enduring public perceptions’
-
A crowded field of Democrats is filling up the California governor’s raceIn the Spotlight Over a dozen Democrats have declared their candidacy
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Will Chuck Schumer keep his job?Today's Big Question Democrats are discontented and pointing a finger at the Senate leader
