California voters re-elect Democratic Rep. Katie Porter to state’s 47th Congressional District

Democratic Rep. Katie Porter has defeated her Republican challenger, Scott Baugh, in the race to represent California’s 47th Congressional District.

Prior to Election Day, the Cook Political Report shifted the race from “Lean Democrat” to a toss-up.

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Porter – first elected to Congress in 2018 – prioritized many issues during her House re-election campaign, placing focus on protections for abortion and “standing up to big corporations.”

Throughout her campaign, and even during her tenure in Congress, Porter, a former law professor who was paid more than $285,000 one year during her time at the University of California, Irvine, has found herself entangled in several controversies.

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Porter owns a four-bedroom, three-bath home in Orange County, California, where the typical house sells for $1 million. The residence, located in a leafy subdivision on the UC Irvine campus, was obtained by Porter in 2011 for $523,000, a below-market price secured through a program the university uses to lure academics who couldn’t otherwise afford to live in the affluent area. The only eligibility requirement was that she continue working for the school.

As previously reported, Porter, who has campaigned on the issue of making “college more affordable,” earned thousands of dollars in royalty fees from law school textbooks that she required her own students to purchase for the courses she taught.

Baugh, a resident of Huntington Beach, is a business owner and a lawyer. He previously served as a California assemblyman, representing Orange County from 1995-2000. He has also served as chairman of the Orange County Gang Reduction Intervention Partnership.

Ahead of Tuesday’s election, Baugh centered his campaign messaging on several issues that align with overall voter concerns, including the economy, crime, and education.

As of October 19, Porter had raised more than $22 million and had nearly $9 million cash on hand. Baugh had raised nearly $2.7 million and had nearly $140,000 cash on hand.