‘I don’t want this all on camera,’ gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter says in testy interview
Former Rep. Katie Porter, a 2026 gubernatorial candidate with a narrow advantage in the polls, raised eyebrows when footage emerged of her ending a television interview after being offended by a reporter’s questions.
Images show CBS Sacramento Reporter Julie Watts asks Porter, A Democrat would join the nearly 6.1 million Californians and UC Irvine law professors who voted for President Trump in 2024 against a Republican in November 2026, Gov. He responded that he didn’t need their support if he ran against a Republican to replace Gavin Newsom.
After highlighting his experience winning a closely divided Orange County Congressional District, Porter was peppered with follow-up questions about Watts’ dismissal about needing the support of Trump-supporting voters.
“I feel like this is needlessly controversial. What’s your question?” said Porter.
Watts said he asked similar questions of every other candidate regarding Proposition 50, the redistricting ballot measure that Newsom and other California Democrats put on the ballot in a special election in November.
Porter said he’ll seek every vote he can win, but he’s testifying on follow-up questions.
“I don’t want to keep doing this. That’s what I’ll call it,” Porter said, demurring to multiple follow-up questions. “I want to have a nice, positive conversation. …And if every question you create a follow-up question, then we’re never going to get there.”
“I don’t want this to happen on camera,” he said later.
Mass Sen. A protege of Elizabeth Warren, Porter won election to Congress in 2018 and was noted for his use of a white caucus to explain grid administrators and complex policies. The 51-year-old ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2024 and returned to teaching law at UC Irvine.
On Tuesday night, Porter’s campaign said the interview continued for another 20 minutes after the heated exchange but did not comment further.
The former Congressman’s Democratic rivals in the 2026 gubernatorial race seized on his comments, and Democratic strategists not affiliated with any candidate in the race also chimed in.
“When you’re governor, you’re governor to everyone, not just the people in your party. It’s a bad look to say you don’t need a vote or a vote from some Californians, even from people you really disagree with,” said Elizabeth Ashford, who serves as a strategist for Govs. Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and former vice president Kamala Harris while she was attorney general of California.
“But at the same time, even good candidates have bad nights,” Ashford added. “This is a miss for Katie, but not every interview is going to be great.”
