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Rep. Katie Porter has endorsed California State Senator Dave Min to replace her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Min is a former business law professor at the University of California, Irvine, and was elected to the state Senate in 2020. He recently said he was “honored” to have support from Porter.
“Congresswoman Porter leaves behind an incredible legacy in the House of Representatives, one I hope to try to continue,” he said.
Porter, who will be vacating her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives to run for the U.S. Senate, argued that Min has helped establish a “progressive agenda” in California while serving in the state Senate.
“State Senator Dave Min will be a fantastic member of Congress, and I trust him to keep this critical swing seat blue as we work to take back the House of Representatives in 2024,” she said. “Dave has proven that he can win in this area while delivering on a progressive agenda with real results.”
However, Min and Porter were previously fierce rivals on the campaign trail. In 2018, Min and Porter faced each other in a race to represent the 45th congressional district, with Min running attack ads on television against Porter. One advertisement claimed Porter was the preferred candidate for “Washington insiders.”
Min asserted that Porter was misleading the public regarding her status as an attorney. His team sent out a mailer that read “What Katie Porter says is not what she does.” Specifically, Min argued that Porter was “not a licensed attorney in California.” Min’s campaign repeatedly attacked Porter on this issue.
Porter denounced Min’s attacks as “sexist” at the time.
“This type of campaigning has no place in the Democratic party,” Porter said in a statement at the time.
Despite the attacks, Porter has seemingly set aside grievances with her endorsement. However, Min has a questionable track record in the state Senate.
The California prison guard union spent almost $1 million to help get Min to the state Senate in 2020. In 2021, Min voted to allocate hundreds of millions of dollars in giveaways to the prison guard union. This came in spite of warnings from the Legislative Analyst’s Office that these giveaways were not warranted.
Still, Porter maintains that Min is the right “progressive” leader to take on her role.
