California Politician Katie Porter Yells at a Staffer in a Newly Released Video

Although the race for California governor won't really heat up until next year, frontrunner Katie Porter is already facing some controversy. A newly released video seems to show the former member of the U.S. House of Representatives yelling at a staffer while she is trying to shoot a video.

The video, which was obtained exclusively by Politico, appears to show Porter getting quite angry with the staffer. Here's what we know about it, and why it might be a big deal.

In the video, Porter yells at a staffer who interrupts a meeting she was trying to tape for the Biden administration. “Get out of my f--king shot!” Porter says in the video, which was taped virtually in 2021 and was a conversation between Porter and then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. Several minutes in, one of Porter's staffers interjects to correct something Porter said about electric vehicles.

Porter then went after the staffer.

“You also were in my shot before that. Stay out of my shot," Porter said, referencing a previous incident when the staffer had inadvertently appeared in the background. The staffer has not been publicly identified, but Politico also clarified that they were not the original source of the video. An edited version of the webinar was published by the Department of Energy, and did not include the exchange.

The revelation of this clip comes just one day after Porter threatened to walk out of a testy interview, and furthers her existing reputation for being a demanding boss.

“It’s no secret I hold myself and my staff to a high standard, and that was especially true as a member of Congress,” she said in a statement. “I have sought to be more intentional in showing gratitude to my staff for their important work.”

While being a demanding and sometimes angry boss is not necessarily disqualifying, it speaks to a vulnerability in Porter's campaign that could be exploited by a potential challenger. California uses a jungle primary system where the top two vote-getters in a primary of all candidates move on to compete in the general.

Porter is hoping to be the only Democrat on that final ballot, but is facing potential challenges from Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Los Angeles mayor, and Xavier Becerra, the former health and human services secretary.

There's still time for other candidates to enter the race, too, so Porter's victory here is far from a sure thing.

Of course, it's also the case that having a bad week in your campaign when the election is still more than a year away is not the worst thing that can happen. It's possible that Porter will recover from these blows and emerge as strong a candidate as she has appeared to be thus far. This week has made it clear, though, that she was weaknesses another candidate could exploit.