For the first time, Republican Steve Hilton takes the lead in CA Gov race polling over former front-runner Dem Katie Porter following leaked videos of Porter berating staff and being frustrated with a reporter who asked about how she could win Trump supporters in CA (Porter said she didn't need Trump supporters as would-be Governor of CA - where there are millions of Trump supporters, 40% of the CA electorate).
10/25/25 article
"New polling, conducted after videos of former Rep. Katie Porter‘s interactions with a journalist and a staffer went viral, shows …
"[Steve] Hilton, [a Republican - a big deal in one-party (Dem) rule CA] a former Fox News host who got his start in politics in the United Kingdom, led [for the FIRST time] the new Emerson College poll with 16%.
"Porter, who served three terms in Congress representing an Orange County district before mounting an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate last year, was nearly tied at 15%.
"Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco came in at No. 3 with 11%. And Democrats Xavier Becerra [of the Imran Awan House IT scandal,* among other sketchy things] and Antonio Villaraigosa [former Los Angeles mayor] both clocked in at 5%.
[* https://dailycaller.com/2017/12/11/becerra-tried-to-block-server-admin-over-red-flags-but-logins-continued-with-muted-reaction/]
"All of the other candidates had less than 4%.
"Notably, though, the poll found that a plurality of likely voters surveyed, 39%, said they were still undecided in the race. Speculation, in recent weeks, has mounted about a potential heavyweight contender jumping into the race for governor.
[Effect of leaked videos on Porter's former frontrunner status for CA governor]
"While Democratic support for Porter remained unchanged, the Emerson College poll found, backing from independent voters dropped from 16% to 11% from September to October.
"It was Porter’s exchange with a CBS reporter that first went viral earlier this month. Porter grew increasingly and visibly frustrated with questions about whether she would need support from Californians who support President Donald Trump to win the gubernatorial race. At one point, she threatened to end the interview.
"And then Politico released footage from 2021 of Porter berating a staffer who interrupted a recording she was taping for the Biden administration to correct a comment about electric vehicles. Cursing, Porter admonished the staffer for appearing in the background of the shot.
"Porter has acknowledged she “could have handled things better” and said she would “continue to try to hold myself to do better."
"Both Hilton’s and Porter’s camps touted the new polling as wins on Friday."
https://www.ocregister.com/2025/10/25/steve-hilton-katie-porter-lead-latest-poll-in-the-california-governor-race
"Porter, who is seen as a frontrunner in the race to replace Gavin Newsom, has received little defence from members of her party, and some have suggested her behaviour shows she is unfit for the job."
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg129we204o