Political Notebook: Gay comic book seller Porter eyes Capitol Hill

A writer for independent magazines and an online seller of comic books based in Palm Springs, Ferguson Porter in the last two elections for the U.S. House seat that represents the LGBTQ retirement and tourist destination in California’s Coachella Valley had worked to elect the gay candidate, attorney Will Rollins. Yet in both the 2022 and 2024 races, Rollins fell short to conservative Congressmember Ken Calvert (R-Corona).

“I supported Will Rollins. I canvassed for him in 2022. We voted for him multiple times and contributed to his campaign,” said Porter, 43, of himself and his husband, Alan McPhail, a retired public school teacher.

Porter had considered entering the race last year if Rollins had opted not to do so. Six weeks after last year’s November election, Porter spoke to Rollins and learned he didn’t plan to mount a third bid to oust Calvert from his 41st Congressional District.

“I had been talking and thinking for three years about a run. My husband said, ‘Either run or shut up! You are driving me crazy!’” recalled Porter, who pulled papers to do so in February. “I would say if I am elected, I would be the first person in congressional history to go to film school, be a published writer and sell comic books to be elected to the House.”

Yet, Porter is facing stiff headwinds to be one of the top two vote-getters to advance out of the June 2 primary and make it onto the fall ballot in November. For one thing, he is no longer seeking the House seat he thought he would be vying for.

Due to the passage of Proposition 50 last month by the state’s voters, Palm Springs was moved into the redrawn 48th Congressional District represented by conservative Congressmember Darrell Issa (R-Vista). The addition of more liberal voters from the Coachella Valley and Inland Empire areas with those from northern San Diego County has made the seat one of the Democratic Party’s top pickups in 2026 as it seeks to regain the House majority in next year’s midterms.

Issa reportedly rejected entreaties to run for a safe GOP seat in Texas, where Republican state lawmakers gerrymandered five more House districts to be favorable to their party, prompting the California counter measure Prop 50 to tilt five more House seats to favor Democrats. The wealthy politician is expected to seek reelection to his seat, despite it now having a Democratic registration advantage of more than 4 points.

As such, bisexual San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert has emerged as a frontrunner in the race. She dropped her expected 2026 state Senate bid to instead seek the congressional seat due to Prop 50.

She has picked up a host of endorsements from local electeds throughout Southern California, LGBTQ leaders, and progressive groups. In a December 9 email, Emilys List urged its supporters to get behind von Wilpert’s candidacy since she will fight to “protect reproductive freedom, defend LGBTQ+ rights” among other issues if elected.

“Meanwhile, her opponent, MAGA Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, has spent more than 20 years in Congress lining his pockets, slashing health care, and hiking costs,” wrote the influential political group that works to elect more pro-choice Democratic women to public office. “Voters in California's 48th Congressional District deserve a champion who will fight for them, not against them. Emilys List is proud to endorse Marni von Wilpert – and we're ready to help her flip this seat and take the fight to Congress.”

Ammar Campa-Najjar, who lost to Issa in 2020, is also angling for one of the two spots in next spring’s primary contest. Like Porter, gay entrepreneur and trained economist Brandon Riker of Palm Springs had thought he would be running against Calvert but is now seeking to oust Issa from his seat.

Another out candidate, gay attorney Curtis Morrison, began his campaign running against Issa. This week, a group opposed to the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee endorsed his candidacy, saying Morrison “speaks with the moral clarity we urgently need” and denounced Issa as being “AIPAC-backed, pro-genocide” in a post on X.

“Curtis embodies the integrity and courage that should define our politics. Supporting his campaign is a direct stand against genocide and for a more just future, both at home and abroad,” wrote Track AIPAC.

Morrison said he was “humbled” to receive its endorsement, describing Track AIPAC as “a group that has been persecuted by the Israel lobby simply for bringing transparency to how much cash flows into the congressional campaigns to buy support for Israel’s atrocities, war crimes, and yes, genocide.”

The list of candidates running against Issa is expected to remain in flux until the filing deadline in early March. Having never held public office or mounted a political campaign before, Porter told the Bay Area Reporter during a recent phone interview that he is well aware of the challenges he is facing as a candidate.

“I am an underdog, dark horse and outsider all rolled into one,” acknowledged Porter, adding that, “I plan to stay in as long as I can. If that means through the primary, I am going to stick with it.”

While he has taken part in a number of candidate forums this year and has been attending different events and meeting with local groups to raise his name recognition with voters, Porter has yet to hold an official campaign launch event. He does have a website at voteporterforcongress.com where he is out about being married to his husband and lists several policy matters he would pursue on Capitol Hill.

Among them is expanding the number of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court and imposing term limits on their tenures serving on the country’s highest court. Porter also advocates for adding more seats to the House of Representatives to better reflect the country’s current population and avoid seeing California lose seats in the future. (He explains how he would like congressional seats to be apportioned on his campaign site blog.)

“One of the things I am working on right now is at the start of the new year posting a series of video essays where I talk about expanding the House and how to stop partisan gerrymandering,” said Porter, who admitted “some of my ideas for changing things are a little nerdy” and aren’t often given the attention they should.

For most of 2025, Porter focused on meeting voters across Riverside County based on the congressional map that had been in place. He told the B.A.R. he is not that familiar with San Diego so will be turning his attention to that area of the redrawn House district in the new year.

“I have been to San Diego a couple times for vacation. The first trip we took after COVID in 2021 was to San Diego because we could drive there,” recalled Porter, who initially lived in Los Angeles when he first moved to the Golden State after graduating from Southern Methodist University in 2005 with a B.A. in cinema-television.

The Dallas native moved to Palm Springs in 2010 and a few years later met McPhail. In March, the couple will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary.

The outcome of his race could help expand LGBTQ representation among California’s congressional delegation. Gay incumbent Congressmembers Mark Takano (D-Riverside) and Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) are expected to win their reelection bids, while gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) has a strong shot at succeeding retiring Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco).

As for his own contest, Porter told the B.A.R. he is convinced that Issa is beatable. The relatively easy passage of Prop 50 points to a California electorate eager to oust GOP incumbents next year in hopes of blunting the Trump administration’s policies, he contended.

“I think the winds will shift away from Republicans and back towards Democrats,” predicted Porter. “Hopefully, we will get out voters who might not be inclined to come out in midterm election years because they will understand how important it is and will find a candidate who speaks to them and offers new ideas and solutions.”

Like the other contenders in his race, Porter has roughly six months before the primary to convince voters in the new 48th House district he is that candidate.

Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http://www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook's online companion. This week's column looked at the current lineup of candidates in the four California House races with out contenders.

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Got a tip on LGBTQ politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or email [email protected].