Former Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine acquired the endorsement of a distinguished Democratic ladies’s group on Monday that backs candidates who help abortion rights. The group may present vital funding and grassroots help to spice up Porter’s 2026 gubernatorial marketing campaign.
“Katie Porter has spent her profession holding the highly effective accountable, preventing to decrease prices and taking up Wall Road and Trump administration officers to ship outcomes for California’s working households,” stated Jessica Mackler, president of EMILYs Listing. “At a time when President Trump and his allies are attacking Californians’ well being care and making their lives costlier, Katie is the confirmed chief California wants.”
The group’s identify stands for Early Cash Is Like Yeast, a reference to the significance of early fundraising for feminine candidates. It was based 4 many years in the past to advertise Democratic ladies who help authorized abortion. The group has raised almost $950 million to assist elect such candidates throughout the nation, together with backing Porter’s profitable congressional marketing campaign to flip a GOP district in Orange County.
“There’s nothing that Donald Trump hates greater than going through down a powerful, highly effective lady,” Porter stated. “For many years, EMILY’s Listing has backed winner after winner, serving to elect pro-choice Democratic ladies to public workplace. They had been instrumental in serving to me flip a Republican stronghold blue in 2018, and collectively I’m assured we’ll make historical past once more.”
It’s unclear, nonetheless, how a lot the group will spend on Porter’s bid to be California’s first feminine governor. There are a number of crucial congressional races subsequent 12 months that may decide management of the Home that the group will most likely throw its weight behind.
The 2026 gubernatorial race to exchange termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom is broad open after former Vice President Kamala Harris determined to not run and as Sen. Alex Padilla and businessman Rick Caruso mull over whether or not to make a run.
For the time being, Porter, a UC Irvine regulation professor who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate final 12 months, has a small edge within the polls among the many multitude of Democrats working for the seat. The first is in June.
EMILYs Listing, which regularly avoids making a nod when there are a number of feminine candidates in a race, made its determination after former state Senate chief Toni Atkins introduced in late September that she was dropping out of the race. Former state Controller Betty Yee stays a gubernatorial candidate.
