Dem Calif gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter says of videos: 'I could have handled things better'

Front-running Democratic California gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter has responded to a series of recent unflattering videos that have jeopardized her campaign by saying, "I could have handled things better."

“When I look at those videos, I want people to know that I understand that I could have handled things better. I think I’m known as someone who’s able to handle tough questions, who’s willing to answer questions, and I want people to know that I really value the incredible work that my staff can do,” Porter told Los Angeles TV station KTLA on Tuesday, in her first appearance since the videos became public, according to The Hill news outlet. 

“People who know me know I can be tough, but I need to do a better job expressing appreciation for the amazing work that my team does."

Last week, Porter faced criticism for appearing to suggest she wouldn’t need votes from President Trump supporters to win the California gubernatorial race next year.

CBS News correspondent Julie Watts asked Porter in an interview, “What do you say to the 40 percent of California voters, who you’ll need in order to win, who voted for Trump?”

Porter, who as a congresswoman represented part of the state's Orange County, which has a conservative leaning, responded: “How would I need them in order to win, ma’am?”

She later said that she was “going to try to win every vote I can.”

When Watts pressed her later, Porter appeared to become irritated, saying the interview was becoming “unnecessarily argumentative.” Watts said that CBS News had asked the same question to the others in the race. 

“I don’t want to keep doing this. I’m gonna call it. Thank you,” Porter said, looking off camera.

“You’re not going to do the interview with us?” Watts asked.

“Nope, not like this I’m not. Not with seven follow-ups to every question you ask,” Porter said, adding that she didn’t care that the other candidates had been asked the same question.

After that interview was released, POLITICO published a video from 2021 in which Porter recorded a video call with then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. In that video, a staffer walked into her frame, and Porter said, “Get out of my f‑cking shot.”

The staffer responded that they were trying to correct something that Porter had said during the video call.

“Okay, you were also in my shot before that. Stay out of my shot,” Porter said.

When Porter was asked on Tuesday by KTLA whether California voters could be confident that there wouldn’t be any other damaging videos surfacing, she declined to commit to that. However, she said that how she treated her staffer was “wrong” and that she did apologize to them.

“What I know is that I could have done better in those moments,” Porter said. “I’m going to be focused on earning their votes and earning their trust. That’s true in every election. I’ve only ever had tough elections, so I’m absolutely aware that I’m going to have to continue to show them. I’m going to have to answer every question.”