Surprising California Governor Poll Finds Dem Katie Porter Falling Behind GOP Opponent
A recent Berkeley Institute of Government Studies poll shows former Democratic California Rep. Katie Porter losing ground in the 2026 California governor’s race, slipping from 17% to 11% support. Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has risen from 10% to 13%, now leading the race. Other candidates, including Democrats Xavier Becerra and Antonio Villaraigosa and Republican Steve Hilton, have lower single-digit support. The poll also reveals high levels of undecided voters (44%) and mixed favorability ratings for the leading candidates.
Bianco criticized current Governor Gavin Newsom’s governance, accusing it of mismanaging funds and neglecting public safety, positioning himself as a needed “sheriff” to restore order. Meanwhile,Porter has faced negative publicity,including viral incidents of confrontations with reporters and former staffers,which may be impacting her campaign.
The poll surveyed over 8,100 registered voters in California with a margin of error of approximately +/- 2 percentage points.
Former Democratic California Rep. Katie Porter slipped six points in the state’s 2026 governor’s race, according to a Berkeley Institute of Government Studies poll released Friday, showing Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco now leading.
Porter, who had been the frontrunner in polls since August, fell from 17 percent to 11 percent, while Bianco climbed from 10 percent to 13 percent. The IGS poll included six other Democrats, but none received more than 3 percent support besides former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Becerra came in third with 8 percent, dropping one point since August, followed by Republican candidate Steve Hilton, who rose two points to also reach 8 percent. Meanwhile, 5 percent of voters said they’d back another candidate and 44 percent remained undecided.
Among those surveyed, 23 percent viewed Bianco favorably, 26 percent unfavorably, and 51 percent had no opinion. Porter’s favorability stood at 26 percent, with 33 percent viewing her unfavorably and 41 percent expressing no opinion.
In response to the new data, Bianco told the Daily Caller News Foundation that California constituents “need a sheriff” as he called out Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom for wasting taxpayer dollars.
“Sacramento is home to more crime than any other city due to Gavin Newsom and his enablers stealing from Californians,” Bianco told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“They are spending billions to fund government programs for illegal immigrants, fund political power g[r]abs, building a new temple to government with little to no oversight, and in the meantime, there is no money for first responders, families trying to rebuild their lives, or tax relief for families,” Bianco added. “Californians need a Sheriff as their next Governor to restore sanity in Sacramento.”
The poll follows a string of negative headlines for Porter, including viral clips snapping at a reporter and former staffers.
An interview with CBS News California’s Julie Watts went viral on Oct. 7 after Porter walked out when asked how she planned to reach the 40 percent of state voters who supported President Donald Trump, curtly responding that she didn’t “need” Trump voters “in order to win.”
Watts attempted to challenge Porter about the point, but the former Democratic representative began snapping back repeatedly. Porter eventually said she was ending the interview, adding she was no longer having a “pleasant, positive conversation.”
Just a day later, Politico published a resurfaced 2021 video showing Porter yelling at a staffer during an online conversation with then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, shouting, “Get out of my f***ing shot” while filming.
Porter did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
The IGS poll was conducted online in English and Spanish from Oct. 20–27 among 8,141 registered California voters. IGS collected the data by distributing and text message invitations to stratified random samples of the state’s registered voters. The sample has a margin of error of roughly +/- 2 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
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