Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) has fallen to third place in most California Senate primary polls, leading to several new strategies to avoid being eliminated in the looming jungle primary.
In the Golden State, the top two finishers, regardless of party, in the March 5 primary will advance to the general election, and as Republican Steve Garvey pulls ahead of Porter for second place, she has used several tactics to try to save her Senate campaign.
Pushing Garvey’s GOP opponent
During the final debate between the top four Senate candidates, Porter touted Republican Eric Early, who is polling in the low single digits, as the real dangerous Republican in the race, rather than Garvey.
“There is a Republican that is dangerous in this race, and that’s Trump Republican Eric Early, who has said he will be 100% MAGA at all time,” Porter said at the debate on Tuesday.
Porter’s push of Early in the debate comes after she dubbed him the “real Republican threat in the California Senate race” in ads run on Facebook earlier this month. She appears to be attempting to split the Republican vote, which has largely consolidated behind Garvey, to allow for her to advance to the general election in November.
Speaking out on age limits for politicians
Porter tried to differentiate herself from the field of candidates by calling for a conversation on age limits for elected officials during a previous debate. She pointed out how Schiff had previously endorsed age limits for Supreme Court justices, but not for members of Congress.
“I do think, generally, that age limits are a conversation for all elected officials that we ought to be having,” Porter said.
“I think we need a mix of people who’ve had years of experience and people like me, who’ve only been in Congress for five years, but I think we have to have that conversation,” she added.
The tactic is a risk, considering concerns around President Joe Biden’s mental acuity at age 81 have gained momentum following Robert Hur’s report that asserted he has a “poor memory.” Still, she and Schiff both support Biden’s run for a second term, with Porter saying she is pleased with his performance.
Shifting attacks to Schiff
As Porter emerges as the chief Democratic rival to Schiff, she has gone after him in a bid to solidify a head-to-head matchup in November. Porter had gone after Garvey in earlier debates, but in the Tuesday debate, she aimed her fire at Schiff.
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She went after Schiff for taking donations from “Big Oil, Big Banks, and Big Pharma,” touting her vow to “never take corporate PAC money.” Schiff responded to her continued jabs, arguing that the “problem with purity tests” is that “invariably,” the person creating them does not “meet them.”
Porter has also accused Schiff of “boxing out” herself and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) by cutting an ad pitting him against Garvey. An Emerson College-Inside California Politics-Hill poll released on Tuesday shows Schiff leading the field with 28%, followed by Garvey with 22%, Porter with 16%, and Lee with 9%.