To paraphrase another California gubernatorial loser, you won’t have Katie Porter to throw scalding potatoes on anymore.
Porter, the far-left firebrand who was considered a provisional favorite to be the Golden State’s next governor this time last year, announced she was leaving politics late Wednesday on her social media accounts, promising to rebrand her Instagram account to… apparently becoming a book influencer?
Sure, why not? Whatever keeps you away from abusing power and/or staffers.
“I’m done for now with politics and campaigning,” Porter said on her official Instagram account, now rebranded as @katieporterturnsthepage. (I see what you did there.)
“One thing that’s always been a constant from when I was a little kid to now is to love to read, and taking a lot of solace and heart and joy and pleasure in reading,” she said.
“So, I’m rebranding this account as ‘Katie Porter Turns the Page.’ It’s partly a reference to a new chapter in my life… but also to something I do a lot, which is turn the page when I’m reading.”
Notice that nobody got in her shot this time. They’ve learned!
Is Katie Porter done with politics?
When former Vice President Kamala Harris announced that she wasn’t running for California governor, the race became Porter’s to lose. I say that because you might not remember that she was the favorite, since she lost it with such aplomb that you almost thought she was trying.
The first sign of danger was an October interview with a local CBS affiliate where she threatened to walk out over what were normal questions posed to any candidate who wants to lead any state, much less the nation’s most populous.
Democrat California gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter loses it during an interview, complains that she is being asked questions.
Reporter: “What do you say to the 40% of CA voters who you’ll need in order to win, who voted for Trump?”
Porter: “How would I need them in order… pic.twitter.com/3pdxMSacYQ
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 8, 2025
That was funny, but the next issue she faced wasn’t: Shortly after that train wreck of an interview, media resurfaced old allegations from her 2013 divorce filings, back when she was a law professor and a California independent bank monitor. In those filings, her ex-husband alleged she abused him verbally and physically, going as far as throwing scalding hot mashed potatoes on him during one altercation.
Porter, a former U.S. representative and 2024 California senatorial candidate, was also unmasked as a terrible boss as well as a terrible spouse, a pattern which included another inimitable clip:
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language that some viewers will find offensive.
WOW. Leaked video of Democrat CA Governor Candidate Katie Porter yelling at a staffer to “GET OUT OF MY F*CKING SHOT!”
THIS is who Democrats want as their next governor???pic.twitter.com/IaTz4sZxN4
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 8, 2025
Inexplicably, as her ship of fools began to sink in the polls, she decided this was the moment to make light of, cutting an ad where she says at the end, “Now, could you guys please get out of my shot?”
#CAPol: “Now, could you guys please get out of my shot?”
Katie Porter is up with a new #CAGov TV ad. pic.twitter.com/iRVd7rKcW0
— AdImpact Politics (@AdImpact_Pol) May 5, 2026
Ahahahaha malignantly abusive bosses, aren’t they a scream?
Anywho, this managed to somehow get worse when she got on a debate stage:
NEW: California gubernatorial candidate Chad Bianco torches Katie Porter after she apparently tried recreating Kamala Harris’ “I’m speaking” moment.
The moment came while the candidates were being questioned about California’s insurance crisis.
Porter: “I’m speaking.”
Bianco:… pic.twitter.com/kWrIv52VkG
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 29, 2026
KATIE PORTER to CHAD BIANCO: “Sir, I don’t need any lectures from you about being a mother.”
BIANCO: “You might!” pic.twitter.com/90Gi1bpfun
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 7, 2026
Katie Porter says illegal aliens are “one of the only ways California has been growing in recent years.” pic.twitter.com/B0CYIluedI
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 6, 2026
Realizing that she was not only poisonously far left but also potentially unelectable — especially given two Republicans hovering near the top of California’s jungle primary polls, which automatically advance the top two vote-getters to the November election regardless of party, potentially locking the Democrats out — the party establishment started lining up behind alternative candidates.
First was U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, who shouldn’t have seemed reasonable to Democrats, but did (at least compared to Porter) until numerous allegations of sexual abuse surfaced. Incredibly, this still didn’t help her much, as that same establishment lined up behind former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, who rocketed to the top Democrat slot nearly overnight.
In the end, she finished fifth overall in the jungle primary, and third among Democrats. (In addition to Becerra, who advanced to the general election along with Republican Steve Hilton, crunchy tax-happy billionaire Tom Steyer also beat her with 22.9 percent of the vote to Porter’s 4.4 percent.)
So now, she’s going to become one of those BookTok influencers, or something. I doubt she’ll be a particularly good reviewer, for what it’s worth; as Fox News noted in 2023, she went viral when she was spotted reading the mock self-help book “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***” during the House Speaker vote.
From the public record before and since, it’s pretty clear that the only thing she internalized from that tome was the vulgarity. Ah well. Bon voyage, Katie! And stay away from those cookbooks, lest you rack up another credible partner assault allegation.
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