Katie Porter says she’d consider role in Biden administration, California Senate run

Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) said this week that she would consider joining former Vice President Joe Biden’s administration or running for the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) if the Democratic ticket is elected in November.

“I will always at least consider, if not say yes, to anything I could do to help solve the problems that are facing America,” Porter told HuffPost Thursday when asked about a potential Senate run if Harris is elected vice president. 

“I would absolutely be interested in trying to serve, whether it’s in the Biden administration or whether it’s taking on new roles in the House of Representatives, whatever options are presented to me, I’d be willing to step up,” she continued. 

Porter was elected to her California House seat in the 2018 midterm elections.

If Harris is elected vice president, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) would be tasked with appointing a successor to serve the rest of her Senate term, which continues through 2022.

Porter could be on Newsom’s shortlist, in addition to Democratic California Reps. Karen Bass and Adam Schiff, California Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis and California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, among several other potential candidates.

Newsom said earlier this month that he has already received multiple pitches from individuals seeking to fill Harris’s seat if she and Biden win the White House in November.

Porter told HuffPost Thursday that “we are so lucky in California to have a broad, diverse bench of elected officials.”  

“I don’t envy the governor having to make this appointment,” she added.