Democrat Katie Porter wins re-election in California’s 47th District

Representative Katie Porter of California, who has become a progressive hero for her aggressive questioning during hearings, has won her re-election race in California’s 47th District.

A former law professor and graduate of Harvard Law School, Ms Porter studied under Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts when the latter was a professor at Harvard. Ms Porter first ran in 2018 and defeated Republican Representative Mimi Walters in California’s 45th District, which had voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Ms Porter won her race against Republican Scott Baugh 51.6 per cent to 48.4 per cent.

But rising prices, particularly the cost of gas in already-expensive California, made her race against Republican Scott Baugh all the more difficult in California’s 47th District once California completed redistricting.

The non-partisan Cook Political Report had labeled the race as a toss-up, indicating Democrats were struggling in suburban areas like Orange County, long considered a stronghold for conservatism. Donald Trump’s candidacy moved Orange County more into the Democratic column and it voted for Joe Biden in 2020.

But Democratic woes made it harder for Democrats like Ms Porter to survive in a year where dissatisfaction with a Democratic president was prevalent.

Still, her victory comes after Democrats failed to hold the House of Representatives or flip many crucial House seats in California. Representative Mike Garcia held the 27th District despite it overwhelmingly voting for Mr Biden while Representative David Valadao looks likely to hang on in California’s 22nd District despite being one of ten Republicans who voted to impeach Mr Trump.

And like her former professor, Ms Porter, who previously served on the House Financial Services Committee, has earned a reputation for aggressive questioning of financial executives and officials in the Trump administration while using charts and a white board as visual aids.

During one hearing with former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, she asked him if he knew what the letters in the “REO rate,” which means “real-estate owned,” stood for. Most recently, she has questioned executives about rising prices and profits amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Similarly, she criticised Democrats for not knowing how to discuss inflation, saying that as a single mom, high food prices made it difficult for her as a single mom despite making a member of Congress’s salary, as Politico reported earlier this year.