Flanked by supporters hoisting blue and white signs, Rep. Katie Porter had a message for those who backed her in the U.S. Senate race: “I will always be fighting for you.”
Porter’s quest for higher office, then, had ended.
“While the votes are still coming in, we know that tonight we’ll come up short,” said Porter. “Our opponents threw everything – every trick, millions of dollars, every trick in the playbook – to knock us off our feet. But I’m still standing in high heels.”
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It’s unclear what’s next for Porter, an Irvine resident who has represented Orange County since 2019. She’s been a prolific fundraiser for Democrats, someone who can deftly navigate questioning corporate CEOs in contentious hearings and posting viral content on social media.
U.S. Senate candidate Katie Porter (D-CA) addresses supporters on election night at The Bungalow in Long Beach, CA, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
U.S. Senate candidate Katie Porter (D-CA) cheers are her daughter, Betsy Hoffman, 12, introduces her on election night at The Bungalow in Long Beach, CA, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
U.S. Senate candidate Katie Porter (D-CA) addresses supporters on election night at The Bungalow in Long Beach, CA, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
U.S. Senate candidate Katie Porter (D-CA) reacts as her daughter, Betsy Hoffman, 12, introduces her on election night at The Bungalow in Long Beach, CA, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
U.S. Senate candidate Katie Porter (D-CA) stands on stage as she listens to her daughter, Betsy Hoffman, 12, introduce her on election night at The Bungalow in Long Beach, CA, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
U.S. Senate candidate Katie Porter (D-CA) greets supporters on election night at The Bungalow in Long Beach, CA, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
U.S. Senate candidate Katie Porter (D-CA) stands with her daughter Betsy Hoffman, 12, after she introduced her on election night at The Bungalow in Long Beach, CA, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Rep. Katie Porter, who is running for the late Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat, speaks to supporters at The Bungalow in Long Beach on Tues., March 5, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
U.S. Senate candidate Katie Porter (D-CA) addresses supporters on election night at The Bungalow in Long Beach, CA, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Supporters wait for U.S. Senate candidate Katie Porter (D-CA) on election night at The Bungalow in Long Beach, CA, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
U.S. Senate candidate Katie Porter (D-CA) greets supporters on election night at The Bungalow in Long Beach, CA, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Supporters cheer for U.S. Senate candidate Katie Porter (D-CA) before she came on stage on election night at The Bungalow in Long Beach, CA, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
U.S. Senate candidate Katie Porter (D-CA) stands on stage as she listens to her daughter, Betsy Hoffman, 12, introduce her on election night at The Bungalow in Long Beach, CA, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A supporters of U.S. Senate candidate Katie Porter (D-CA) waits for her to arrive on election night at The Bungalow in Long Beach, CA, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
In a quick but defiant address, she blamed special interest groups that spent oodles of money on the race that prevented her – and her message – from advancing to the November election. In her speech, she never gave a clear concession.
The representative said running for office was not in her plans – that is until Donald Trump became president in 2016. The Yale and Harvard Law School alumnus defeated incumbent Rep. Mimi Walters in 2018. “To me, running for office was for people who were more polished, who had more perfect lives, people of a certain pedigree. But someone close said to me: ‘As a woman, if you wait your turn, you won’t get one.’”
Porter didn’t miss an opportunity to criticize Schiff, a Burbank Democrat, for propping up Garvey, a former Dodger and San Diego Padres player, with ads ahead of the election – a move seen as an effort to squeeze her and Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, out of the primary. She said Schiff spent more to boost Garvey than highlight his own campaign, drawing sympathetic boos from her supporters.
One woman interrupted Porter: “You scared them, Katie.”
“I think we scared them,” Porter responded.
Her speech concluded, Porter hugged and took photos with supporters. “Don’t give up hope,” she told them, “because I’m telling you, your generation is going to fix this.”
Before Porter spoke Tuesday, she was introduced by 12-year-old daughter Betsy Hoffman.
“You think her favorite tool is her whiteboard, but us kids know it’s her crockpot,” she joked.
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