California Senate Primary Rigged by Billionaires: Dem Rep. Porter

Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., is maintaining her belief that California politics, as a whole, and her Senate race, specifically, were “rigged by billionaires” after her Super Tuesday defeat.

“Thank you to everyone who supported our campaign and voted to shake up the status quo in Washington,” she stated on Thursday on X. “Because of you, we had the establishment running scared — facing 3 to 1 in TV spending and a slew of billionaires spending millions to manipulate this election.”

An X community note on Porter’s post pointed out that “‘Rigging’ suggests illegal manipulation of electoral outcomes, a serious breach undermining democracy. Outspending on advertising, supported by Citizens United v. FEC, is considered protected free speech, as long as it complies with campaign finance laws. It does not amount to ‘rigging’.”

Porter then clarified her use of the term “rigged,” explaining that she did not mean vote manipulation or interference in the election process.

“Defending democracy involves speaking out against that,” she posted. “I have never questioned the validity of the vote count and election process in CA, which are beyond reproach.”

Possibly more a casualty of California’s nonpartisan primary system than anything else, Porter was defeated by fellow Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Republican contender Steve Garvey in the runoff elections. The top two vote-getters advanced to the general election in November.