Matthew Hoffman, the ex-husband of former Congresswoman and gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter, reportedly suffered the indignity (and injury) of having Porter pour boiling potatoes over his head. Now that Porter's volatile temper and bad behavior to her staffers has been exposed for all to see, Hoffman has decided to break his silence on their relationship and confirm what most of us already know: she's a terrible politician, and would make an even worse governor.
Hoffman spills the tea. Fortunately, since he lives in OR now, he has a state between them to insulate him from any blowback.
Katie Porter is a “master manipulator” who embodies everything wrong with politics today, according to her husband of 10 years.
Matthew Hoffman, 50, told The Post the hotheaded liberal contender for California governor is a bad choice to run the deep blue state.
Referring to video clips that exposed Porter’s volatile temper and hostile treatment of staffers and journalists, he said, “It’s about time” they came out.
“The amount of staff she goes through. The horrible things that she says [about others] … those aren’t fabrications,” he warned The Post outside his home in Portland, Oregon.
Read It Here: Democrat Katie Porter’s Entire Disastrous Interview Gets Released, and It’s As Bad As You Might Think
Hoffman revealed that the power brokers of the Democrat Party (i.e., former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA)), have a hard time with Porter. This is our shocked face.
“She can’t even get along with Nancy Pelosi,” Hoffman observed.
He also said it was preposterous for Porter to claim her California Senate primary loss to Schiff last March was because he wanted to “rig” the election.
That could well explain why this steady drip of opposition against Porter's candidacy for governor has been allowed. Porter was a progressive poster child and convenient foil against the Republicans, until she wasn't. The fact that she is battling the optics of her terrible leadership with very few in the California or national Democrat Party coming to her defense speaks volumes.
Compare the circling of the wagons for Virginia gubernatorial candidate and former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger versus the lack of support that Porter is experiencing. This should tell you all you need to know, not just about Porter's ability to build a consensus — a huge part of being a governor — but her inability to moderate. Idealogues are all well and good for Congress, but they rarely make it into higher office.
Hoffman pointed out that leadership is all about finding consensus, but said Porter’s personality means she isn’t the type to listen to differing ideas and find an acceptable political middle ground.
This also explains why Porter went deer-in-the-headlights, then ballistic, during her interview with CBS News California reporter Julie Watts.
In case one needs a reminder,
WATCH:
Since this 3min excerpt of 30min segment went viral, we decided to post it ourselves. But I’d encourage you to watch the full segment. https://t.co/wHQcHbybqF @CBSNews @kcalnews @CBSSacramento @KPIXtv pic.twitter.com/A80fBGiFxE
— Julie Watts (@juliewattsTV) October 8, 2025
What is even more fascinating is that Porter and Hoffman were married for 10 years and had three children together. I guess the old adage about breaking up to make up bears true. But Hoffman said the abuse ultimately became too much.
Addressing their relationship, Hoffman described their divorce as “awful.”
Porter was the one to file for divorce, followed by an emergency protective order and then a restraining order against Hoffman. Police also arrested Hoffman after a fight in which he broke a light switch in their home.
Hoffman responded with a request for a restraining order of his own, claiming Porter would “routinely” call him a “f—ing idiot” and “f—ing incompetent” and shattered a glass coffee pot on their kitchen counter in March 2012 when she felt their house wasn’t clean enough.
“She would not let me have a cell phone because she said, ‘You’re too f—ing dumb to operate it,’” Hoffman said of his hotheaded ex in the documents.
Hoffman then mentioned the most talked-about incident from their divorce records: during an argument, Porter dumped a boiling pot of potatoes on his head.
Hoffman also claimed in divorce papers that in 2006, Porter exploded over the way he was making mashed potatoes, snapping, “Can’t you read the f—ing instructions!” before raising a “ceramic bowl of steaming hot potatoes and dumped it on my head, burning my scalp,” according to Hoffman’s account in court papers.
Yet, when Porter ran for Congress in 2018, she alleged that she was the “victim of domestic violence.” She also painted herself as a struggling single mother, even though an investigation revealed that while she served in Congress, Porter continued to enjoy her University of Irvine subsidized housing, despite the fact that she was on administrative leave from the university.
Dive Deeper: Dem Rep. Katie Porter Still Lives in Taxpayer-Subsidized Housing Provided by Her 'Employer,' UC Irvine
Toxic Katie Porter Goes From Bad to Worse, Pathetically Tries to Explain Abusive Videos
“I’m the most boring person in America. I’m a mom of three kids, I protected my family, I ended a marriage that was troubled,” Porter said.
Katie “loves to bang the drum” of her being a single mom, Hoffman countered.
Despite Hoffman supposedly being abusive, the couple settled on joint custody arrangements.
Hoffman left California to become a compliance specialist with the Oregon Employment Department.
Their three children — two sons and a daughter, the youngest — live with their mom.
Hoffman said he loves his kids and wants to be there for them as much as possible. While sees them on FaceTime frequently, he would love to spend more time with them in person, although it’s hard with them being in Southern California.
He said he doesn’t speak to Porter often and tries to avoid her, but when she does call, it’s usually because she “wants something,” usually related to parenting.
From this up-close-and-personal account from Porter's past to her already dodgy reputation within the Democrat Party, what this adds up to may not bode well for her gubernatorial run. However, Californians voted in Gov. Gavin Newsom twice, so only time will tell whether these revelations will tank Porter, or add to her street cred.
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