Katie Porter has decided to throw herself into the ring. Yesterday she announced she’s going after Diane Feinstein’s Senate seat.

California needs a warrior in the Senate—to 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.

Today, I'm proud to announce my candidacy for the U.S. Senate in 2024. pic.twitter.com/X1CSE8T12B

— Katie Porter (@katieporteroc) January 10, 2023

A few things to keep in mind here. One: Katie Porter barely won her reelection to U.S. House this past fall. It was a very thin margin by even California voting standards. 

She first won a seat in 2018 when she beat Republican Representative Mimi Walters in a district that encompasses the suburbs of Orange County. Ms Porter won the seat again in 2020 but underformed President Joe Biden’s victory in the district. She narrowly won re-election by 3.4 percentage points in November despite aggressive spending by Republicans to flip the seat.

If she can barely win her seat in a predominantly white area, what makes her think she can win over the rest of the state that includes Asian and Hispanics? Oh wait, maybe because she’s set herself to be even more progressive than her former professor and mentor Elizabeth Warren? 

Two: California politics is down and dirty. You can darned well bet her opponents (whom I’ll get to in a moment) will use reports of her hostile work environment against her. 

VIBE CHECK: Rep. Katie Porter fires staffer after both test positive for COVID. Full texts from the Congresswoman firing the staffer via text. Shared with permission from staffer. pic.twitter.com/jbhn2NzrmB

— Dear White Staffers (Vote Uncommitted Everywhere) (@DWS________) December 29, 2022

Third: Senator Diane Feinstein hasn’t even announced whether she will run again in 2024 or not. Her office issued this statement. 

“Everyone is of course welcome to throw their hat in the ring, and I will make an announcement concerning my plans for 2024 at the appropriate time,” Feinstein said in a statement responding to Porter’s candidacy. “Right now I’m focused on ensuring California has all the resources it needs to cope with the devastating storms slamming the state and leaving more than a dozen dead.”

Woof. In other words Katie’s getting a little to big for her britches and threw her hat in the ring a wee bit early. Although, whether Diane runs or not, there are a couple of other contenders lurking out there as I noted above. Rho Khanna, who sometimes comes across as a moderate, and Adam Schiff whom Trump broke big time. I’d buy a lot of popcorn and pay good money to watch Porter and Schifty square off! 

Needless to say, both presumptive candidates also issued pointed statements about Katie’s jumping in too soon. 

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.”

Which then put Katie on the defensive.

But of COURSE she’s concerned about what is happening across the state and in her district! Of COURSE she’s worried about the safety of her constituents!

Porter has an abrasive grating personality. It might play well among a few, but to win the state over, she’ll need to drop the abrasiveness and ditch the whiteboards and other theatrics. 

Furthermore, Katie Porter tossed herself into the ring barely a couple of months after squeaking out a win in her district. I have to wonder what her constituents think of her now given she’s essentially told them they were just a stepping stone for her to reach the Senate. 

Given this announcement, I also have to wonder what her staffers think about this? Or will she have yet another slew of turnovers due to the toxic work environment Porter evidently encourages? 

Granted, I’m no fan of Diane Feinstein given how she treated Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. I’m also not a fan of her politics as a whole. That said, I think this is a move by Porter to try and force Feinstein to make a decision sooner rather than later about running again. IMO, Feinstein SHOULDN’T run again, but that’s her decision to make. 

Needless to say, Katie Porter may have bitten off more than she can chew by throwing her hat in the ring against Diane Feinstein this early. 

Keep the popcorn handy folks! This is one show you’ll want to watch. 

Feature Photo Credit: Katie Porter caricature by DonkeyHotey via Flickr, cropped and modified