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Katie Porter wants to convince California voters that she is a new breed of politician Washington, D.C., desperately needs.
A firebrand in Congress often with a whiteboard in hand, the Orange County Democrat has garnered national attention for grilling corporate executives during legislative hearings and challenging leaders within her own party. Her outspoken and blunt style helped her first flip a Republican congressional seat in 2018 and keep that seat for two terms.
Can it help her enough now to become California’s next U.S. senator ?
Porter is competing with two other Democratic members of Congress, Reps. Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee in the March 5 primary. They share largely similar voting records, though Porter has taken slightly different stances at times on issues such as foreign policies and immigration.
To get in the top two and advance to November, she also faces a challenge from Republican former baseball star Steve Garvey, who is tied with her for second place in some recent polls.