California Rep. Katie Porter has endorsed fellow California Rep. Adam Schiff for the U.S. Senate in the upcoming November election.
Porter endorsed her colleague and former senatorial rival during a Sunday appearance on The Issue Is with host Elex Michaelson.
Michaelson noted Porter had not called Schiff to concede the Senate primary election in early March, and asked if Porter would throw support behind her former rival in general election.
"I think he's the right choice for Californians," Porter said, adding she called Schiff the Thursday following the Senate primary. "We had a pleasant exchange."
Porter added Schiff, along with fellow California Rep. Barbara Lee who also ran in the California Senate primary, were still her colleagues.
"Adam and Steve Garvey will have a race going all the way through November," she continued of the lone Republican Senate challenger.
"While I'm not on the ballot in November, I'm very, very involved already in trying to help other candidates win, including House candidates," Porter continued, noting she would run into Schiff along the campaign trail.
Michaelson asked Porter for clarification if she was in fact endorsing Schiff for California's Senate seat, to which Porter agreed.
"I strongly support him," she said.
Porter was edged out of the November general election by Schiff who held a 21.8-point advantage over her in the Senate primary.
Shortly after the primary, Porter released a statement insisting the California Senate primary was "rigged" by "a few billionaires."
"A few billionaires spent $10 million+ on attack ads against me, including an ad rated 'false' by an independent fact checker," Porter's statement read. "That is dishonest means to manipulate an outcome."
"I say 'rigged by billionaires' and our politics are—in fact—manipulated by dark money," she continued. "Defending democracy means calling that out."
Porter noted "at no time" has she undermined vote counts or election processes in the Golden State, referring to the act as "beyond reproach."
In late February, Porter warned a Schiff-Garvey matchup would ensure Schiff's victory, adding there would be little political competition between the two as California is a deeply Democratic state.
"If it's a Schiff-Garvey match up, the race is basically over March 5th," she continued. "I think that is really bad for California and it's really bad for little-d democracy."
"We do best when we have competitive elections," Porter added.
Schiff and Garvey will face off for California's Senate seat that was held by Dianne Feinstein for 30 years before her 2023 passing. Republicans have not won a United States Senate seat in California since 1988.
