On Friday, April 14, US Representative Katie Porter of Orange County was interviewed at an event in the Robert Frost Auditorium by Larry Wilmore for Live Talks Los Angeles. Porter, who is running for the Senate seat that will be vacated by Dianne Feinstein in 2024, recently published her book, I Swear, Politics is Messier Than my Minivan. The book details her life as a single mother in politics, and how she learned to push back against the institution in order to become successful. 

Throughout most of the event, she discussed her campaign and political values and policies for her campaign. Porter mentioned that the system favors voices of people who have always been in politics, rather than young people. This makes it so that change is rarely made, causing government decisions that ultimately don’t benefit the people. She also struggled being a single mother in politics, as she needed to spend long periods of time away from her children, in a system that doesn’t give any consideration for her situation.

Porter discussed issues such as affordable housing, childcare, abortion, the filibuster and the importance of young voters. She described how the two party system causes voters to not affiliate with either party, as they feel that politicians regardless of party will not work for them. Porter stressed the importance of bipartisanship and shared values. 

Finally, Porter promoted her campaign by saying that she will deal with the difficult battles of politics, that she wants to deliver a durable democratic majority in Senate, and that she will rebuild the people’s trust in government.