Dem candidate survived domestic abuse only to have it used against her

No Images? Click here         Katie Porter Survived Domestic Abuse, Only To Have It Used Against Her In Her Campaign Four years before law professor Katie Porter launched her campaign for Congress, the single mother of three was flossing her teeth in the bathroom of her home in Irvine, California, when her then-husband barged in. Matthew Hoffman grabbed his wife’s hands, ripped the floss out of them and threw it away, and then punched the wall so hard that he shattered the faceplate on the light switch and knocked the lights out. He would later tell a judge he was angry because his wife had been brushing her teeth too slowly. That was in April 2013. Porter and Hoffman had separated the previous month but continued to live together while they figured out what to do. Porter said Hoffman became abusive and unhinged over those weeks in a desperate effort to stop her from divorcing him. He pushed her into a wall, threw things at her, called her a “dumb bitch” in front of their three young children and would bang so loudly on her bedroom door at night that she had to prop a chair against it to keep him at bay. She said he shoved their 1-year-old daughter across the kitchen in her high chair, threatened to kill himself and once held the door of Porter’s car open to stop her from driving to a school meeting. Porter cried as she told me these stories in the basement conference room of a Marriott in Washington, D.C. It was mid-April 2018, and in a few hours, female Democratic senators and celebrities would descend on the hotel for the annual EMILY’s List gala. Porter was also being celebrated that night as part of the post-election wave of women candidates vying for office. A 44-year-old Harvard-educated consumer advocate, she was the first congressional candidate EMILY’s List endorsed for the 2018 cycle and has since landed the endorsements of Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). READ MORE     WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING? AT&T's CEO said hiring Michael Cohen was a "big mistake." The telecom giant paid Trump’s attorney to advise on a variety of issues, including a proposed merger with Time Warner. READ MORE Trump's plan on prescription drugs looks nothing like what he promised. So much for an all-out assault on Big Pharma. READ MORE Meghan McCain criticized a White House aide who mocked her father's cancer. “It doesn’t matter. He’s dying anyway,” Kelly Sadler said of Sen. John McCain, who is at odds with the president over his CIA nominee. READ MORE         ICYMI Sanctions that the Trump administration slapped on a Russian oligarch as part of an effort to punish the country for its hostile behavior in Crimea, Ukraine and Syria likely delayed the delivery of sewage pump equipment to the headquarters of the National Mall last month, forcing National Park Service employees to continue using portable toilets at work.   In the South, a new environmental movement seeks to put justice first. “The voices of resistance of those most directly impacted are not always being heard.”   A bill intended to fight sex trafficking has had a dangerous effect on the many sex workers who have consensually chosen the profession and who relied on the internet and its tools to keep themselves safe and make a living.         Want more?  Sarah Palin Says McCain’s Regrets About Her Are A ‘Perpetual Gut-Punch’   Trump Just Launched The War On Christmas In May And People Are So Not Having It   EPA Hid Scott Pruitt’s Dinner With Climate Denier Accused Of Child Sex Abuse   HuffPost is now a part of Oath and a part of Verizon. On May 25th 2018 we will be introducing a new Oath Privacy Policy which will explain how your data is used and shared. Learn More. How will Trump’s administration impact you? Sign up for our email and find out. Did a friend send you this? Subscribe here. Like what you see? Share it. Want more? Here are two other newsletters you'll love: The Morning Email and Must Reads. ©2017 HuffPost | 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 You are receiving this email because you signed up for updates from HuffPost Feedback | Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe   - - Preferences  |  Unsubscribe