Former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter has fallen six points in the race for California governor, according to a Berkeley Institute of Government Studies (IGS) poll released Friday, which shows Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco now leading the crowded field.
The IGS survey found Porter dropping from 17 percent in August to 11 percent, while Bianco climbed from 10 percent to 13 percent.
Porter, who had been viewed as the Democratic frontrunner for months, now trails as voters shift toward the Republican sheriff known for his criticism of Sacramento’s leadership.
The poll included six other Democratic contenders, but none secured more than 3 percent support apart from former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Becerra placed third at 8 percent, down one point from the previous survey, while Republican candidate Steve Hilton rose two points to also reach 8 percent.
Five percent of respondents said they would support another candidate, and 44 percent remained undecided.
Among those surveyed, 23 percent held a favorable view of Bianco, 26 percent viewed him unfavorably, and 51 percent said they had no opinion. Porter’s favorability stood slightly higher at 26 percent, though 33 percent viewed her unfavorably and 41 percent were undecided.
In an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation, Bianco said Californians “need a sheriff” to restore accountability in state government.
He criticized Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom for what he described as reckless spending and misplaced priorities.
“Sacramento is home to more crime than any other city due to Gavin Newsom and his enablers stealing from Californians,” Bianco told the DCNF.
“They are spending billions to fund government programs for illegal immigrants, fund political power grabs, 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,” he said.
“Californians need a Sheriff as their next Governor to restore sanity in Sacramento.”
The poll’s release follows a series of negative headlines for Porter in recent weeks, including two widely circulated videos that reignited questions about her temperament.
On October 7, Porter abruptly ended an interview with CBS News California’s Julie Watts after being asked how she planned to reach the 40 percent of state voters who supported President Donald Trump.
Porter responded that she didn’t “need” Trump voters “in order to win.”
When Watts attempted to follow up, Porter pushed back repeatedly before cutting the interview short, saying she was no longer having a “pleasant, positive conversation.”
A day later, Politico resurfaced a 2021 video showing Porter yelling at a staffer during an online meeting with then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
In the clip, Porter shouted, “Get out of my f**king shot!” as she appeared to lose patience during the virtual event.
Is there anyone as unlikeable as Katie Porter?!
— Shawn Farash (@Shawn_Farash) October 9, 2025
I am hereby nominating Katie Porter for "Karen of the Year" for 2025.
She is competing with Jessica Tarlov and the Phillies Baseball Karen pic.twitter.com/3oM4UNW0TO
The IGS poll, conducted online in English and Spanish between October 20 and October 27, surveyed 8,141 registered California voters.
Invitations were distributed by email and text message to a stratified random sample of the state’s voter rolls.
The survey carries a margin of error of approximately plus or minus two percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.
Bianco’s narrow lead marks the first time in months a Republican has topped the IGS governor’s poll, signaling potential volatility in California’s 2026 race as both parties test their messages in one of the nation’s bluest states.
