Katie Porter Regrets Complaining About 'Rigged' Election

Representative Katie Porter said she regrets calling California's Senate primary election "rigged" after her defeat earlier this month.

Porter placed third in the state's non-partisan "jungle primary," losing to Democrat Adam Schiff, viewed as a more moderate Democrat, and Republican Steve Garvey, who will face off in the November general election. In response to the results, Porter blamed her loss on the influence of billionaires who spent "millions to rig this election" against her.

The remark drew backlash from her fellow Democrats, who accused Porter of echoing the rhetoric espoused by former President Donald Trump following his defeat in the 2020 presidential race, which he has said was stolen via widespread fraud despite substantial evidence to back up that claim.

Porter initially defended her "rigged" election remark, arguing she was referring to manipulation by "big dark money" that funded false attacks against her rather than issues with the election process or vote count.

But on Tuesday, Porter said she regrets using the term "rigged" during an interview on the Pod Saves America podcast.

"I wish I had chosen a different word because what happened with the controversy was it took away from two really important truths," she said.

Porter said she believes California election officials do a "terrific job" and that she would "in no time and in no way" suggest there is "anything other than a careful, thoughtful, amazing election system" in the state.

She said the truth about campaign finance also got lost in the controversy over her language.

"Big money does influence our elections," she said. "Outcomes are manipulated and distorted when you have people coming in, spending millions and millions of dollars at the last minute, and that money is not disclosed until after the election, so people don't know about it. They can't take that into account when they vote."

Newsweek reached out to Porter's campaign for comment via email.

Her comments mark a shift from a statement she initially released amid the controversy.

"'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. That is dishonest means to manipulate an outcome," she wrote in the March 6 statement.

The statement continued, "I said 'rigged by billionaires,' and our politics are—in fact—manipulated by big dark money. 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."

In the primary, only about 15.3 percent of California voters backed Porter. Meanwhile, 31.7 percent voted for Schiff, and 31.6 percent voted for Garvey. Representative Barbara Lee received about 9.6 percent of the vote. Schiff is viewed as the favorite to win in November, as California is considered one of the most Democratic states in the U.S.

Porter, along with Lee, were viewed as more progressive options than Schiff. Porter was first elected to Congress during the 2018 "blue wave," when she flipped a traditionally conservative seat in Orange County to Democrats. She rose to national prominence for her embrace of progressive politics and frequently went viral for her questioning during Congressional hearings.

Some Democrats have expressed concerns that her seat, centered around Irvine, may flip back to Republicans without Porter, though the Cook Political Report classifies it as "Lean Democrat."