Democratic California gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter’s chances of becoming governor have fallen so significantly that she is currently lagging behind Democratic California Sen. Alex Padilla, who is not currently in the race, CNN’s Harry Enten said on Thursday.
Porter has faced intense scrutiny after viral footage showed her threatening to storm out of an interview over a basic question and after a video caught her screaming at her staff for being in view of the camera. Porter’s support has fallen from 40% on Oct. 7 to 16% as of Thursday, placing her behind Padilla, who has not officially announced his candidacy for governor, Enten said on “Laura Coates Live.”
“They have been heard around the world and I think that Katie Porter is making history because she has potentially annihilated her chances to be the next governor of California more so than any other candidate I’ve ever seen so quickly, my goodness gracious,” Enten said. “What are we talking about right here? Well, let’s take a look. Chance to be the next California governor, according to the Kalshi prediction market, Katie Porter’s chances have fallen through the floor. Just two days ago, she was the plurality leader in the prediction markets at 40%. Now, get this, her chance has fallen by more than half to just 16%, my goodness gracious.”
“Meanwhile Alex Padilla, who’s not even running for governor of California at this point, he’s a sitting senator from that state, his chances have gone up through the roof from 10% all the way to 27%,” Enten continued.
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The recent controversy surrounding Porter has become a story of interest to the American public, prompting internet searches for Porter to surge 10,000% in comparison to the previous week, Enten said.
In one of the viral clips from September, Porter lashed out at CBS News California Julie Watts for asking how she planned to appeal to the 40% of Californians who voted for President Donald Trump. Porter particularly grew frustrated and threatened to end the interview as Watts asked her follow-up questions.
“What I’m saying to you is that, I don’t want to keep doing this, I’m gonna call it, thank you … Nope, not like this. Not with seven follow-ups to every single question you’ve asked,” Porter told Watts. “I don’t care, I don’t care. I want to have a pleasant, positive conversation [in] which you asked me about every issue on this list. And if every question, you’re gonna make up a follow-up question, we’re never going to get there. I’ve never had to do this before, ever. To end an interview.”
Resurfaced video from 2021 showed Porter shouting at her staffer who appeared behind her to correct a statement she made about electric vehicles. She ordered her staff to “get out of [her] fucking shot.”
Porter had also been accused of abusing her staff and using racial remarks against some of them. Divorce court documents from 2023 alleged that she poured a bowl of “steaming hot boiled potatoes” over her then-husband’s head.
Her ex-husband, Matthew Hoffman, also alleged she shouted obscenities, caused scratches on his arms from clawing at him and would not allow him to have a cell phone because he was “too fucking dumb to operate it,” according to The Daily Mail.
Padilla is currently seen as a top-tier contender to run in the 2026 gubernatorial race. He became a household name after he interrupted a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press conference and was escorted out of the location in handcuffs.
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