(VitalNews.org) – Several Democrats have their eye on the House seat that California Democrat Katie Porter will vacate next year when she runs for Senate, but one dropped out of the race on April 11.
Harley Rouda, a Democrat who once represented California in the U.S. House, said he was leaving the race after a fall left him with a traumatic brain injury. Rouda’s campaign said his doctor advised him to drop out because he suffered a “moderate traumatic brain injury” with internal hemorrhaging.
Rouda said in a statement that his doctors say he will eventually make a full recovery, and he’s grateful for the medical care that got him through the initial injury. But he needs to focus on his recovery and family, Rouda said.
Comparisons might be made to Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, who suffered a major stroke in 2022 yet refused to stop campaigning for the Senate seat he eventually won. It was clear to all observers that Fetterman had difficulty understanding spoken words in person. His answers to questions on camera were often unresponsive to the question asked or made no sense in a conversational context.
Rouda’s departure from the race for Porter’s seat is just one step in a larger game of Congressional and Senatorial musical chairs. Katie Porter is leaving her House seat to climb to the Senate level. Her opportunity comes because California Democrat Dianne Feinstein, 89, has announced she is not running for re-election next year.
Porter’s campaign hasn’t been smooth so far. Former staff and associates have said she was difficult and abrasive. Despite those denials, texts between Porter and her former staff member clearly show Porter chastising that staffer for making her sick and stating that Porter’s children have no one to care for them because that staffer caused Porter to get sick.
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