Governor, Assemblywoman, Secretary: What’s Next For Katie Porter?

In the aftermath of the 2024 U.S. Senate Primary where Congresswoman Katie Porter (D-CA) turned what was supposed to be a 1-2 tandem Primary finish with Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) into a nightmare scenario where she only received a distant third place, her future now is one big question mark.

When she leaves office in January 2025, she’ll leave with 6 years experience of being a Congresswoman, over a decade of experience as a law professor at the University of Iowa and UC Irvine, and a smattering of consulting, some independent monitor work for the state, and some law work. That should be enough to give another campaign a go. However, besides being thoroughly embarrassed in the Senate Primary, Porter has a lot working against her. She’s known as one of the most childish members of Congress with her whiteboard and other props, she has a lot of negative stories of her time as a Congresswoman out there (Just ask former Congressman Harley Rouda), and her recent meltdown after losing really hurt her current standing.

So where does she go from here? Right now, the big rumor is that she is going to drop in on the 2026 Gubernatorial race. In fact, before her Senate bid, many had speculated that this is what she was going to do anyway. But being out of a job soon means that she will have fresh incentive. While she would be the biggest name in the race and go in with an election machine all set up and ready to go on the state level, she would be entering a crowded race. Many candidates also hold her positions on most things, and that’s not even including many big time backers already drifting to the candidates already.

The future for Katie Porter

Also possible is a run for Assembly, State Senate or getting back her Congressional seat, especially for the first two if there is no incumbent running or the last one if a Republican gets her old district. But she could see a lower state office as beneath her now. Same for a County job, although an Orange County Board of Supervisors position could be tempting. As for a Congressional seat, she’d be coming in as the candidate who gave it up, which never bodes well in elections.

There’s also the possibility that Newsom or Kamala Harris could be in the White House in 2028, by which time she could get a Secretary position. More locally, she could decide on being Mayor of Irvine for awhile to keep her bona fides alive in the meantime. The filing to run ends in August, so she still has plenty of time to decide.

However, the most likely thing to happen is that Porter falls back into teaching for awhile, recuperates, then finds a race she is likely to win.

“Porter needs everyone to forget her big loss this month and her despicable actions afterwards,” said Stephanie Lewis, a pollster in Southern California, to the Globe. “She’s not extreme left, but she’s pretty far to that side as is, so she needs to find a suitable race for that. In 2026, the Gubernatorial would be her best shot, but she would be up against a lot of candidates. After leaving Congress, she might take some time off, but equally likely is she goes the speaker route and gives speeches or the education route, which means being a professor again. She stays active in politics too. She doesn’t run in 2026, she’ll make sure she is known by giving endorsements.”

“She could also give the local route in the meantime. You mentioned mayor of Irvine. That’s a big maybe. She was a Congresswoman, and people who were members of Congress rarely go back down to local things. Mayor is a maybe, and that is a big maybe. She’ll likely go with her strengths, go to teaching for a bit and wait out for something better. 2026, or maybe a position in the white house if Harris or Newsom wins. A lot of lawmakers in the past have done that after losing an election. Hubert Humphrey for example. Or she could go back to law for awhile too like Richard Nixon did. She has options. And she’s only 50, so she can roar back still. And she will be back in another race. It’s just a matter of what comes up.”

As of late March, Porter has not yet publicly said what has plans to do post-Congress.