Yes — Katie Porter is still running for Governor of California. The former congresswoman officially entered the race in March 2025 and remains an active candidate heading into the June 2 primary. Here is a complete, up-to-date breakdown of where her campaign stands today.
Who Is Katie Porter?
Katie Porter is an American politician, lawyer, and former U.S. Representative who served California’s congressional district from 2019 to 2025. A Yale University and Harvard Law School graduate, she built a distinguished academic career teaching law at the University of California, Irvine, before entering politics.
In Congress, Porter became one of the most recognizable progressive voices in the country, famous for her sharp, whiteboard-aided questioning of corporate executives and federal regulators during hearings. That reputation as a tough, no-nonsense consumer advocate became the foundation of her political brand — and it is the same brand she is now carrying into the California governor’s race.
Before launching her gubernatorial campaign, Porter ran for U.S. Senate in 2024 but failed to advance past the nonpartisan primary, which was ultimately won by Adam Schiff.
Is Katie Porter Still Running for Governor?
Yes, absolutely. Katie Porter is an active candidate for Governor of California and is on the ballot for the June 2 primary. She formally announced her gubernatorial campaign in March 2025 with a clear, populist message: fight for everyday Californians, stand up to Donald Trump, and take on the corporations and special interests driving up the cost of living in the state.
Her campaign has been actively running television ads, participating in debates, and building endorsements as primary day approaches.
Katie Porter’s Campaign Platform
Porter has built her gubernatorial platform around the same progressive priorities that defined her congressional career, while sharpening her focus on issues uniquely relevant to California’s challenges.
Affordability and Cost of Living The centerpiece of Porter’s campaign is making California more affordable. She has pledged to fight back against the corporations and special interests she blames for driving up the cost of housing, groceries, healthcare, and everyday essentials. Her campaign positions her as the candidate who understands what it means to budget carefully — often describing herself as a single mother of three who knows the reality of stretching a dollar.
Healthcare Porter has campaigned as a healthcare-first governor, promising to protect Californians’ health coverage from federal rollbacks, take on Big Pharma and the insurance industry, and lower out-of-pocket costs for families. Her endorsements from major nursing and healthcare worker unions reflect this focus.
Housing On California’s most pressing crisis, Porter has backed legislation that would legalize multi-family housing near transit corridors statewide. She supports expanding Section 8 vouchers and increasing the low-income housing tax credit as tools to address the state’s chronic housing shortage.
Corporate Accountability and Consumer Protection True to her congressional identity, Porter has made holding corporations accountable a signature issue of the campaign. She has refused to accept corporate PAC money, a distinction she highlights frequently as evidence that she cannot be bought by the interests she promises to fight.
Standing Up to Trump Porter has made opposition to Donald Trump and his administration’s policies a recurring theme, framing herself as the Democrat best positioned to protect California’s values, institutions, and federal funding from Washington.
Katie Porter’s Key Endorsements
Despite a competitive and crowded field, Porter has assembled a notable collection of endorsements from progressive figures and institutions.
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has been among her most prominent backers, appearing in a recent campaign television ad praising Porter’s track record of taking on large corporations. State legislators including State Senator Scott Wiener and several assembly members have also lined up behind her campaign.
On the labor and healthcare front, Porter secured the endorsement of the United Nurses Associations of California and the National Union of Healthcare Workers. Environmental groups have also backed her, citing her aggressive stance on climate accountability and corporate regulation.
Separately, an editorial board representing five major California newspapers declared Porter the strongest candidate to lead the state, citing her grasp of the affordability challenges facing ordinary Californians.
Where Does Katie Porter Stand in the Polls?
Porter’s polling journey has followed a familiar arc for candidates in crowded primaries: an early lead, followed by a tightening race as more prominent names entered the field.
In the summer and early fall of 2025, Porter sat atop many polls, leading the Democratic primary field by comfortable margins and generating significant momentum. She was widely regarded as the frontrunner. That lead eroded through late 2025 and into early 2026 as Tom Steyer entered the race with an unprecedented self-funded campaign, Eric Swalwell surged before dramatically exiting following serious misconduct allegations, and Republican candidates Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco consolidated their side of the ballot.
Heading into May, the most recent polls show Porter pulling between 8% and 10% in the overall field, which includes both Democratic and Republican candidates in California’s top-two primary system. Among Democratic voters specifically, the race remains closely contested between Porter, Tom Steyer, and Xavier Becerra. Steyer leads due to his massive self-funded advertising blitz, while Becerra has surged following Swalwell’s exit from the race.
Republican Steve Hilton currently leads across most recent surveys when all registered voters are included.
Controversies and Campaign Challenges
Porter’s campaign has faced its share of turbulence. In October 2025, a tense CBS News interview in which she grew visibly frustrated and threatened to walk out went viral, drawing criticism from opponents and raising questions about her temperament. The moment dominated the news cycle for days and was credited with contributing to a dip in her poll numbers.
Additionally, footage of Porter snapping at campaign staff during a virtual meeting circulated widely on social media, adding to a narrative about her conduct that her rivals sought to exploit. Her campaign has pushed back on this coverage, framing it as politically motivated attacks on a candidate who holds the powerful accountable.
Despite these controversies, Porter remains well-funded and well-organized. She raised roughly $2.8 million in the most recent reporting period and holds more cash on hand than several of her Democratic rivals, giving her the resources to compete aggressively through primary day.
The Broader Governor’s Race
California’s governor’s race is one of the most watched and unusual in the country this cycle. With Gavin Newsom term-limited and both Kamala Harris and Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis opting not to run, no single Democrat entered the race with commanding statewide name recognition.
That opened the door to a sprawling, 61-candidate field, with the biggest storylines including Tom Steyer’s extraordinary self-funded campaign — spending over $130 million of his own money — and the shocking collapse of Eric Swalwell’s campaign following sexual misconduct allegations in April, which reshuffled the Democratic coalition significantly.
On the Republican side, Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco have split the GOP vote, with both polling strongly enough that analysts have raised the real possibility of two Republicans advancing from the top-two primary to the general election — a nightmare scenario for California Democrats that the state party has actively worked to prevent by urging lower-polling Democrats to consolidate support.
What Happens Next?
The California primary is scheduled for June 2, with the general election set for November 3. Only the top two vote-getters — regardless of party — advance to November.
Katie Porter remains one of the most recognizable names in the Democratic field, with a loyal progressive base, significant fundraising, and the backing of major national figures like Elizabeth Warren. Whether that translates into a top-two finish in a fragmented, high-stakes primary is the defining question of her campaign going forward.
She is still in the race, still fighting, and still very much a factor.