Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) has announced she is running for Senate in California in 2024, where a seat currently held by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) will be on the ballot, although it’s unclear if Feinstein, who is nearly 90 years old, will seek re-election.
Feinstein already filed initial paperwork in support of a re-election bid, but in a new statement released after Porter announced her candidacy, the Senator still spoke of her final decision as in the future. In an announcement video, Porter — who has become known for posing incisive questions in Congressional hearings to figures like banking executives — spoke of her involvement in the fight against financial corruption both inside and outside of Congress. On the first front, Porter’s efforts include pushing for a ban on members of Congress making stock trades. “California needs a warrior in the Senate—to stand up to special interests, fight the dangerous imbalance in our economy, and hold so-called leaders like Mitch McConnell accountable for rigging our democracy,” she said in a caption.
Porter, who’s a lawyer, is an ally of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Porter studied under Warren at Harvard Law and served as a co-chair of the 2020 campaign for president Warren launched, and a political action committee The Washington Post says Warren previously endorsed already shared its support for Porter’s campaign for Senate. That group is the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and its co-founder Adam Green said they’ve “been fighting alongside Katie from the very beginning as she’s taken on predatory banks, corporate executives, and big-money special interests.”
Others who could contend for the seat include Dem Reps. Adam Schiff and Ro Khanna, both of California. The state won’t be holding individual party primaries. Instead, all candidates in the Senate race will appear before voters on the same ballot, with the top two finishers advancing to the general election. In theory, that could leave, say, Porter and Schiff facing each other in November 2024.
Some of Porter’s recent public commentary includes criticism of a measure the new House Republican majority passed that would undo tens of billions in new funding for the IRS that was included in the sweeping legislative deal passed by Democrats called the Inflation Reduction Act. The money would help the agency make tens of thousands of new hires in service of aims like holding wealthy tax evaders accountable and providing better assistance to everyday Americans. The conspiracy theories some Republicans have pushed about a supposedly widespread threat of something like IRS agents turning their firearms against Americans en masse are objectively ridiculous. Only a small portion of the agency is even armed.
“When Republicans took power in 2010, they defunded the IRS so it would be easier for their ultra-wealthy donors to cheat taxes,” Porter said. “Families have since been dealing with delays, and big corporations have been pocketing billions in taxes they owe under the law each year… Congress passed a law to boost IRS funding last year. Republicans now want to rescind resources and spread lies that new agents would otherwise go after families. I voted no on their bill to help big corporations evade taxes—and add [$114B] to the deficit over 10 years.”
I’ve been pushing to give the IRS the resources it needs to serve taxpayers and crack down on ultra-wealthy tax cheats. With 50,000+ workers—including many customer service representatives—set to retire soon, time has been of the essence. (2/3)https://t.co/sZBp3NFnCE
— Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) January 10, 2023
Typo: their bill adds $114 billion (with a B!) to the deficit.
— Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) January 10, 2023
