Democrat Katie Porter Falls Behind Outspoken GOP Candidate In Shocking California Poll
Former California Democratic Rep. Katie Porter lost six points in the state’s 2026 gubernatorial race, according to a Berkeley Institute for Government Studies (IGS) poll released Friday, showing that Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is now in the lead.
Porter, a poll favorite since August, fell from 17% to 11%, while Bianco climbed from 10% to 13%. The IGS poll included six other Democrats, but none received more than 3 percent support, except for former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Becerra comes in third with 8%, losing one point since August, followed by Republican candidate Steve Hilton, who gains two points to also reach 8%. Meanwhile, 5% of voters said they would support another candidate and 44% remained undecided.
Of those surveyed, 23% have a favorable opinion of Bianco, 26% have an unfavorable opinion and 51% have no opinion. Porter’s favorability stood at 26%, with 33% viewing her unfavorably and 41% expressing no opinion.
In response to the new data, Bianco told the Daily Caller News Foundation that California voters “need a sheriff” in calling out Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom for wasting taxpayer dollars. (RELATED: Democratic Rep With Anger Issues Refuses to Say If There Are More Videos of Her Abusive Staff)
“Sacramento is home to more crime than any other city due to the thievery of Gavin Newsom and his accomplices against Californians,” Bianco told DCNF.
“They spend billions to finance government programs for illegal immigrants and to finance political power.[r]abs, building a new temple of government with little to no oversight, and in the meantime, there is no money for first responders, families trying to rebuild their lives, or tax breaks for families,” Bianco added. “Californians need a sheriff as the next governor to restore sanity to Sacramento.”
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on May 15, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
The poll follows a series of negative headlines for Porter, including viral clips attacking a reporter and former staffers.
An interview with CBS News’ Julie Watts in California went viral on Oct. 7 after Porter backed away when asked how she planned to reach the 40 percent of voters in the state who supported President Donald Trump, curtly responding that she didn’t “need” Trump voters “to win.”
Watts attempted to challenge Porter on this point, but the former Democratic representative began firing back repeatedly. Porter ultimately said she was ending the interview, adding that she no longer had a “enjoyable, positive conversation.”
Just a day later, Politico published a resurfaced video from 2021 showing Porter yelling at a staffer during an online conversation with then-Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, shouting, “Get the fuck out of my ass!” during filming.
Porter did not respond to DCNF’s request for comment.
The IGS poll was conducted online in English and Spanish October 20-27 among 8,141 registered California voters. IGS collected the data by distributing email and text message invitations to stratified random samples of registered voters in the state. The sample has a margin of error of approximately ±2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
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