EMILY’s List backs Warren ally in contested House race

Katie Porter, a law professor who has worked alongside progressive favorite Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), secured the first House challenger endorsement of the 2016 cycle from EMILY’s List on Friday.

EMILY’s List, which backs female candidates who support abortion rights, announced Porter as its first endorsement of any candidate taking on an incumbent House Republican in the 2018 midterm elections.

“We need leaders on Capitol Hill who aren’t afraid to stand up to Trump associates, big banks, and entrenched special interests who wield tremendous power over the White House, the Trump family, and a Republican-controlled Congress,” EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock said in a statement. 

{mosads}Porter is running for a southern California seat currently represented by Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Calif.). The district went for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton last year despite Walters cruising to reelection for a second term. 

Porter is a law professor at the University of California, Irvine, after previously working as a lawyer and consumer advocate. 

She studied with Warren at Harvard Law School and co-authored a book together titled “The Law of Debtors and Creditors.” 

“Katie is a fighter! She’s been in the trenches with me fighting for families for nearly two decades — and she’s gotten real results,” Warren said in the EMILY’s List press release announcing the endorsement.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), then the California attorney general, tapped Porter in 2012 to oversee distribution of California’s portion of a $25 billion mortgage foreclosure settlement. Harris has since backed Porter for her House bid.

The district has been held by Republicans since 1983. Walters won reelection last year with nearly 59 percent of the vote, while Clinton carried the district by about 5 points over President Trump. 

Walters has drawn at least three other Democratic challengers in addition to Porter: fellow University of California, Irvine, law professor Dave Min, former Senate staffer Kia Hamadanchy and small-business owner Ron Varasteh.