Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) did not back away from describing the California senatorial primary as “rigged” after she failed to advance out of the state’s jungle primary on Super Tuesday.
In a social media post, Porter placed the blame for losing the election on billionaires who interfered in the race.
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“‘Rigged’ means manipulated by dishonest means,” Porter wrote on X. “A few billionaires spent $10 million+ on attack ads against me, including an ad rated ‘false’ by an independent fact checker. That is dishonest means to manipulate an outcome.”
The comments led to swift backlash from fellow Democrats online, including Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), who said the election “was not rigged.”
“I said ‘rigged by billionaires’ and our politics are—in fact—manipulated by big dark money,” Porter 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.”
The recent statement comes less than 24 hours after Porter originally accused her detractors, notably the cryptocurrency-focused super PAC Fairshake, of rigging the election. The comments were reminiscent of former President Donald Trump’s own words after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
“Thank you to everyone who supported our campaign and voted to shake up the status quo in Washington,” the California Democrat wrote on X. “Because of you, we had the establishment running scared — withstanding 3 to 1 in TV spending and an onslaught of billionaires spending millions to rig this election.”
Despite that there were three House Democrats vying to replace the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, only Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) advanced to the general election in November. Porter, along with fellow progressive Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), lost their primary bids to Republican and former Los Angeles Dodger Steve Garvey.
Schiff won 33.3% of the vote, and Garvey won 32.3%, while Porter came in third place with 13.9%, followed by Lee at 7.5%, with 53% of the ballots accounted for.
Both Porter and Lee’s congressional stints will end in January 2025, while Schiff is all but guaranteed to become the reliably blue Golden State’s next senator.
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In a gamble that successfully played off, Schiff, who is backed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), spent millions propping up Garvey in a move that blocked Porter from appearing on the November ballot.
Democrats will no longer have to spend millions on a Senate race now that Schiff is battling a Republican for the seat.
