Katherine Moore Porter (born January 3, 1974) is an American former politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 2019 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she was a candidate in the 2024 U.S. Senate election in California and the 2026 California gubernatorial election. She did not advance from the nonpartisan primary in either race, placing third and fifth, respectively. Her poor showing was blamed, in part, on negative media attention regarding allegations of abusive behavior towards her congressional staff. In July 2026 she implied that she was retiring from politics.McGreevy, Robert, "Dem Katie Porter makes surprising announcement about political future", Fox News, 22 July 2026
Born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, Porter graduated from Yale University and Harvard Law School. In 2018, she was elected to Congress as part of a Democratic wave in Orange County, flipping the 45th district. In 2022, after redistricting, she was reelected in the 47th congressional district. In the House, she was deputy chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and received media attention for her questioning during congressional hearings. She was noted for her use of whiteboards and other visual aids, and she gained a reputation as a fierce questioner.
Early life and education Porter was born on January 3, 1974, in Fort Dodge, Iowa. She grew up on a farm in southern Iowa. Her father, Dan Porter, was a farmer and banker. Her mother, Liz, was a founder of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting.
Porter attended Phillips Academy, a boarding school near Boston. In 1996, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in American studies from Yale University. While at Yale, Porter interned for Republican Senator Chuck Grassley.
Porter later attended Harvard Law School, where she was the notes editor for the Harvard Women's Law Journal and a member of the Board of Student Advisers. She studied under bankruptcy law professor and future U.S. senator Elizabeth Warren, and graduated magna cum laude with her Juris Doctor in 2001.
Early career Porter was a law clerk for Judge Richard S. Arnold of the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit in Little Rock, Arkansas. She practiced with the law firm of Stoel Rives LLP in Portland, Oregon, and was the project director for the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges' Business Bankruptcy Project.Elizabeth Warren & Jay Lawrence Westbrook, Financial Characteristics of Businesses in Bankruptcy, 73 AM. BANKR. L.J. 499 (1999)
Porter was an associate professor of law at William S. Boyd School of Law of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In 2005, she joined the faculty of the University of Iowa College of Law as an associate professor, becoming a full professor there in 2011. Also in 2011, she became a tenured professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Law.
In 2008, Porter testified before the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit alongside then-Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren on the proposed Credit CARD Act of 2009, which was later signed into law.
In March 2012, California attorney general Kamala Harris appointed Porter to be the state's independent monitor of banks in a nationwide $25 billion mortgage settlement. As monitor, she oversaw the banks' implementation of $9.5 billion in settlement reforms for Californians. In 2015, Porter consulted for Ocwen.
Political career U.S. House of Representatives Elections 2018
In April 2017, Porter announced her candidacy for Congress in California's 45th congressional district against two-term Republican incumbent Mimi Walters.Multiple sources: In May 2018, Politico reported that Democrats were confident they would oust Walters, given that Hillary Clinton carried the 45th District in 2016, with Porter stating that "Orange County families are very concerned about what Donald Trump is doing" and "Mimi Walters votes with Trump over and over and over again." Porter finished second in a June 2018 primary and advanced to the general election.
Porter faced off against Walters in the general election on November 6, 2018. Walters led at the end of election night, but in the following days, as more ballots were tabulated, Porter gained votes and eventually overtook Walters. Walters alleged unsubstantiated voter fraud by Democrats, claiming they sought to "steal" her seat.
On November 15, 2018, the Associated Press called the race for Porter, marking the first Democratic victory in the district since its 1953 creation. Following her win, Porter pledged to reform campaign finance laws and highlighted her refusal of corporate PAC donations in her campaign. Porter's win contributed to a wave for Democrats in Orange County that saw them flip four seats centered in the county, resulting in Democratic control of all seven seats in the historically Republican county.
2020
Porter ran for reelection to a second term. She advanced from the top-two primary in first place and faced off against the second-place finisher, Republican Mission Viejo mayor Greg Raths, in the general election. Porter won with 53.5% of the vote to Raths's 46.5%.
2022
Porter was reelected in California's 47th congressional district, defeating Republican nominee Scott Baugh with 51.6% of the vote to Baugh's 48.4%.
Tenure
In June 2019, Porter became one of the first Democrats in a swing district to support an impeachment inquiry following Robert Mueller's Special Counsel investigation. She voted for both the first and second impeachments of Donald Trump.
In January 2021, Porter was removed from the Financial Services Committee after opting to serve instead on the House Natural Resources and House Oversight committees. On the Oversight committee, Porter participated in an investigation into the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)'s test standards for children's car seats and boosters side-impact.
Porter served as one of three co-chairs of Elizabeth Warren's 2020 presidential campaign.
Hearings During Trump's first presidency, Porter gained notice for her pointed questioning of public officials and business leaders during congressional hearings, often using visual aids such as whiteboards. In March 2019, she questioned Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan, arguing that he contradicted his lawyers' "corporate puffery". In April 2019, she questioned JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. In May 2019, she asked Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson about "REOs", real estate owned properties. She questioned Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Kathy Kraninger on basic math problems about annual percentage rates on payday loans, which Kraninger declined to answer. In March 2020, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Robert R. Redfield committed to free COVID-19 testing during questioning by Porter.
At an August 24, 2020, congressional hearing, Porter questioned Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. He admitted to her that he did not know the cost of mailing a postcard or a smaller greeting card, the starting rate for U.S. Priority Mail, or how many Americans voted by mail in the 2016 elections. In a December 2020 House hearing, she questioned United States Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin over COVID-19 relief funding.
Toxic workplace allegations In January 2023, Politico reported on criticism that Porter was "allegedly a terrible—according to some accounts, abusive and racist—boss."
The Washington Post interviewed eight former employees on condition of anonymity about their experiences working for Porter. The staffers described her as domineering and recounted multiple examples of her mistreatment of staffers, including instances where she berated staffers until they cried. In response to the allegations that she created a toxic workplace, Porter defended herself on The View in April 2023 by comparing herself to women of color who are discriminated against.
In October 2025, a video of an online interview from July 2021 between then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Porter resurfaced. In the background, one of Porter's employees appeared and Porter shouted "Get out of my fucking shot!" After the video resurfaced, Porter stated that "what I did to the staffer was wrong." She also claimed that she apologized to the staffer and thanked her for the correction.
Committee assignments For the 116th Congress:
Committee on Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy and Regulatory Affairs
For the 117th Congress:
Committee on Natural Resources Committee on Oversight and Accountability
For the 118th Congress: Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Committee on Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services (Ranking Member) Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Joint Economic Committee
Caucus memberships Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Congressional Progressive Caucus Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment Congressional Taiwan Caucus Rare Disease Caucus
2024 U.S. Senate campaign
On January 10, 2023, Porter announced her candidacy in the 2024 election for the U.S. Senate from California. The announcement came before the incumbent, Dianne Feinstein, had announced whether she would seek reelection. Porter raised over $1 million in donations in the 24 hours after announcing her candidacy, with an average donation of $38. Her supporters formed a super PAC called Women Have Initiative To Elect, Boost, and Organize for A Real Democrat (WHITEBOARD).
Her major opponents in the campaign were Democrat Adam Schiff, Republican Steve Garvey, a former professional baseball player, and Democrat Barbara Lee, a progressive congresswoman.
During the campaign, Porter's campaign offered her extensive fundraising list of phone numbers and email addresses for sale to interested parties.
Porter failed to advance from the March 5 nonpartisan primary, finishing third; Schiff and Garvey advanced to the November general election. With at least 99% of votes counted, Porter trailed Schiff and Garvey by between 800,000 and 1.2 million votes, with Porter failing to lead in any county. The loss ensured that Porter, who did not seek reelection to her House seat, would leave Congress by January 2025.
After her loss in the primary, Porter said the election had been "rigged by billionaires" against her. She claimed that the "rigging" criticism referred to Schiff's campaign and allies raising and spending $11 million in the nonpartisan primary to boost a Republican candidate and knock her out of the general election. Her use of the word "rigged" triggered backlash from some Democrats, who condemned her language for echoing former president Trump's refusal to accept his 2020 loss. Porter later expressed regret, saying, "I wish I had chosen a different word." She made clear that her assertions about the "rigging" were not related to counting of votes or the election process, which she called "beyond reproach". Porter said: "That is a dishonest means to manipulate the outcome. I said 'rigged by billionaires' and our politics are in fact manipulated by big dark money. Defending democracy means calling that out."
2026 California gubernatorial campaign
On March 11, 2025, Porter announced that she would be entering California's 2026 gubernatorial race.