Upon losing the California Senate primary, Democratic congresswoman Katie Porter borrowed a rather Trumpian tone, claiming Wednesday that the race had been “rigged.” Porter pinned the alleged rigging on the wealthy backers of Democratic congressman Adam Schiff, who—with 53% of ballots tallied—received nearly 770,000 more votes than Porter in the open primary. “We had the establishment running scared,” Porter wrote in a Wednesday post on X, “withstanding 3 to 1 in TV spending and an onslaught of billionaires spending millions to rig this election.”
That a Democratic lawmaker, and a particularly progressive one, would accuse her political adversaries of rigging an election is a curious choice. The term has become all but synonymous with Donald Trump following his refusal to accept his 2020 loss as legitimate. But rather than backpedal, Porter doubled down after receiving a wave of criticism. “‘Rigged’ means manipulated by dishonest means. A few billionaires spent $10 million+ on attack ads against me, including an ad rated ‘false’ by an independent fact-checker,” Porter wrote Thursday in a follow-up statement. “That is dishonest means to manipulate an outcome.”
“I said ‘rigged by billionaires’ and our politics are—in fact—manipulated by big dark money,” she continued. “Defending democracy means calling that out. At no time have I ever undermined the vote count and election process in CA, which are beyond reproach.”
Porter appeared to reference the millions spent by Schiff’s campaign and pro-Schiff super PACs in the race, including on advertising aimed at boosting the candidacy of Republican Steve Garvey, who finished in second place—ahead of Porter, who finished in third, and Democratic congressman Barbara Lee, who finished in fourth. Given that the race was an open primary—wherein the two top vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation—Garvey surpassing Porter likely clears the way for Schiff in the deep-blue state. Facing Porter in a head-to-head general election would have produced a less certain November outcome for Schiff, who was endorsed early in the primary by Nancy Pelosi and most of California’s Democratic congressional delegation.
Schiff is vying for the Senate seat left open by the passing of Dianne Feinstein back in September. It is currently being held by Laphonza Butler, who was appointed by California governor Gavin Newsom in October. As for Porter, while still considered a rising star in the Democratic Party, she will be out of Congress next year after choosing to relinquish her Orange County seat to join the Senate primary.