(USNewsMag.com) – Democratic Rep. Katie Porter of California suggested last week that her loss to Rep. Adam Schiff for the U.S. Senate was due to interference by billionaire donors.
On Tuesday, March 5th, Porter came in third place in the nonpartisan primary election for the Senate seat left vacant after the death of the late Dianne Feinstein in September 2023. The following day, March 6th, Porter took to social media and claimed that her campaign and her supporters scared “the establishment,” and said she lost because “an onslaught of billionaires” spent millions to rig it.
Porter, a progressive Democrat, gained less than 14% of support and didn’t win a single county in the Golden State, finishing almost twenty points behind her two main challengers: GOP candidate Steve Garvey, who came in second place, and Schiff, who won the contest. Also in the race was Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee. Although many expected the race to be close, Porter came in third even in Orange County, which she represents in the House.
Porter announced her bid for the Senate seat in January 2023 before Feinstein, the incumbent candidate, announced the following month that she would not seek reelection. The early announcement sparked backlash, as some critics saw it as disrespectful to Feinstein, although Porter managed to raise over $1 million in donations within 24 hours.
The congresswoman’s claims that the election was “rigged” upset many of her fellow party members, who criticized her rhetoric for resembling that of former President Donald Trump following the 2020 presidential election.
In her remarks, Porter thanked her supporters, and said it was clear that Californians were “hungry for leaders who break the mold, can’t be bought,” and who “push for accountability.” Porter added that “special interests” like the way things are in politics today “because they control the politicians.” She accused such “special interests” of spending millions to defeat candidates they dislike who “dilute their influence” while disrupting the status quo.
Despite her claims, Porter herself accepted millions of dollars from large donors and thousands from big donors on Wall Street.
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