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After billionaire activist Tom Steyer entered the California gubernatorial race Wednesday, former Congresswoman Katie Porter, who is also running for governor, blasted him despite previously taking thousands of dollars from him when she was in Congress.
Porter said Steyer was entering the race claiming to fight “the very industries he got rich helping grow,” to which the former member of Congress said: “I call bulls—.” Meanwhile, FEC filings show Porter, who is claiming to fight Steyer, received more than $16,000 between her House campaigns and failed Senate campaign.
“Katie Porter is the ultimate hypocrite and all she’s done in this race is step on one rake after another,” a longtime Democratic strategist, who has worked with campaigns across the country, told Fox News Digital. “This is easily the most disastrous race a Democrat has been running in 2026, which is why Porter is a real liability at the top of the ticket and why Democrats are looking around for alternatives.”
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Rep. Katie Porter is seen on May 28, 2023 in Los Angeles, Calif. (Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Demand Justice)
The Porter campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment on this story.
Steyer, who once financed his own unsuccessful presidential bid in 2020, announced plans to enter the California gubernatorial race this week. The billionaire anti-Trump activist pledged to make life more affordable for working-class Americans and take on corporate interests in an announcement advertisement alerting people of his candidacy. Steyer specifically said he would take on the oil and tobacco industries in particular, which he touted a record of doing in the past as well.
“A new billionaire in our race claims he’ll fight the very industries he got rich helping grow — fossil fuel companies, tobacco, and private immigration detention facilities — at great cost to Californians,” Porter posted on X after Steyer announced his run. “I call bulls—.”
Attached to Porter’s post was also a screenshot of a news headline from The Sacramento Bee that reads: “Tom Steyer, starring in TV ads for tobacco tax hike, invested in tobacco companies.”
People commenting on Porter’s post highlighted her financial support she has received from Steyer in the past. Between 2018 and 2023, Porter received at least $16,100 from him, a Fox News Digital review found.
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For Steyer, his wealth will likely be a target for his opponents.
Democratic presidential candidate businessman Tom Steyer speaks, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020, during a Democratic presidential primary debate hosted by CNN and the Des Moines Register in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
“Tom Steyer tried to buy the presidency — and he failed,” Betty Yee, a former state controller who is running in the Democratic Primary for governor, said following Steyer’s announcement. “The California governorship is not going to be his consolation prize.”
Porter, meanwhile, has faced criticism on the campaign trail for her attitude towards staffers and the media. She faced criticism last month after abruptly walking away from a CBS interview after lashing out at the reporter interviewing her.
“What do you say to the 40% of CA voters who you’ll need in order to win, who voted for Trump?” Porter was asked by CBS California’s Julie Watts during a segment on the controversial redistricting effort launched by Democrats in the state.
“How would I need them in order to win, ma’am?” Porter responded.
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“Well, unless you think you’re going to get 60% of the vote,” the reporter, asking about the voter breakdown of Democrats and Republicans in the state, said before Porter started laughing.
Porter then went back and forth with the reporter, arguing about whether she needs to court and win over Trump voters, particularly if she’s running head-to-head against another Democrat.
“So you don’t need them to win,” Watts asked Porter.
“I feel like this is unnecessarily argumentative,” Porter said, prompting the reporter to point out that she had asked the same question to the other candidates in the race and they answered it.
“I don’t want to keep doing this, I’m going to call it,” Porter said.
When Watts reminded Porter that every candidate had answered the question, Porter said, “I don’t care.”
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Meanwhile, Porter has also faced repeated criticism about how she allegedly treats staffers. In just a span of a single week, three videos went viral of Porter berating her staff.
The race for California governor is a crowded one, with big names like former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. Former Vice President Kamala Harris was reportedly planning on getting involved but ultimately backed away.
Lesser known candidates include state schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond, former Controller Betty Yee and former Assemblyman Ian Calderon.
Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller and Sophia Compton contributed to this report.
