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ATLANTA — Sen. John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-W. V.) traveled only 596 miles when he flew here from Miami last weekend seeking support for a possible presidential campaign. But it felt as though he had crossed the border between different countries.

On Saturday morning, Rockefeller toured a Miami shelter for abused and severely ill infants whose hopes were stunted before birth by mothers who used cocaine or could not afford medical care. By Saturday night he was raising money in the comfortable suburban home of an Atlanta attorney, a place of elegant antiques and long green lawns where anything seemed possible.

Candidates often veer between the extremes of society as they search alternately for exposure and money. But the contrast seems especially appropriate for Rockefeller–a politician who is defining himself on the national stage as an advocate for threatened children, yet who is indelibly stamped with the imprimatur of privilege.

Both elements of that combination are raising Rockefeller’s visibility in the nascent Democratic presidential race. Over the past month, he has received enormous publicity as chairman of the National Commission on Children, a federal panel whose late June report recommended a new $1,000 tax credit for every child, and the expansion of educational and health care programs for disadvantaged children.

But he may be attracting even more notice from activists intrigued with the prospect of a Democratic presidential bid from a man whose name is synonymous with wealth and more typically associated with the moderate Republicanism of his late uncle Nelson A. Rockefeller, the former governor of New York.

“Because of his name he does carry some star quality with him and that is helpful in the initial stages,” says one Democrat close to another potential candidate. “Whether he can sustain that is another question.”

Rockefeller, who is just entering his second term in the Senate after serving eight years as West Virginia’s governor, says he is still about three weeks away from a final decision on whether to seek the nomination. The key remaining concern, he says, is the disruption a race would cause for his family, particularly his wife, Sharon Percy Rockefeller, who is now president of the public television station in Washington, D.C.

“If you talk publicly about families and children, then you have to act responsibly privately in terms of families and children,” he says.

Despite those hesitations, Rockefeller, 54, is behaving like a man drawn toward the track. He has started raising money in several states–while holding open the possibility of using his personal fortune to finance a race–and has discussed the rigors of campaigning with Gary Hart, Walter F. Mondale and Jimmy Carter.

Last weekend, Rockefeller visited Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas–part of an extended tour that will take him to 17 cities this month promoting both his presidential prospects and the children’s commission recommendations. “I see no reason for anything but encouragement,” Rockefeller says of his reception so far.

Even so, Rockefeller still seems more accomplished selling the commission than himself. At the Jackson Hospital Infant/Toddler Shelter Center in Miami, for example, Rockefeller lifted a tiny premature baby to his shoulder and gently stroked the child’s back as he asked a doctor precise questions about the infant’s care. In New Orleans, he let a family lead him away from his tour to visit their disabled daughter who was recovering from a spinal operation. “God bless you both for your perseverance,” he said quietly as he left the bedside.

In his private meetings with political leaders and fund raisers across the South last weekend, Rockefeller was just as earnest and personable, but less focused. He introduced himself and talked about economics, children’s issues, health care and his case against President Bush, though without anything resembling a clear progression from subject to subject.

“This guy needs work,” said one prominent Democrat who has seen Rockefeller in several private meetings. “In some ways he projects well; in other ways, like getting bogged down in details, he loses it.”

Many of the potential contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination are already organizing their message around a central core. Former Massachusetts Sen. Paul E. Tsongas, the only announced candidate, is calling on the party to work more closely with business; Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin is delivering venerable Midwestern populism at a paint-peeling pitch; Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton is championing a drive to “reinvent government” with new approaches to social problems.

For Rockefeller, who left a State Department job to become a VISTA volunteer in West Virginia during the 1960s, the closest analogy appears to be a general call for the nation to pay more attention to domestic problems. His message is an unusual mosaic of ideas both liberal and conservative, old and new, assembled in a pattern that doesn’t always meet at right angles.

Rockefeller touches strong liberal notes, insisting that even costly programs to rescue disadvantaged children are essential to the nation’s future economic health. “The loss of productivity when kids don’t get training and education is a devastating price for America to pay . . . every kid has to be fought over,” he argues.

But Rockefeller also is comfortable with ideas that unsettle many liberals: He heartily endorses policies that demand greater personal responsibility from recipients of government aid, and repeatedly insists that the Democratic nominee must be able to say no to the leading party constituency groups. The fact that the children’s commission’s principal proposal for helping families was a large tax cut, rather than a new federal program, also represents a significant departure from recent Democratic tradition.

Rockefeller further spices this blend with an assertive economic nationalism that calls for tougher negotiations with European and Asian trading partners. “I think we are in a very serious, somewhat desperate struggle for national economic survival,” he says.

To some Democrats, the most surprising aspect of Rockefeller’s appearances over the past month is the fervor with which he criticizes President Bush. Despite what now appear long odds for any Democrat, Rockefeller seems genuinely eager to take on Bush–a man Rockefeller portrays as betraying a background not unlike his own with “cynical” political attacks on such issues as racial quotas.

“Whatever there was in what was a basically progressive Republican Teddy Roosevelt upbringing went down the tubes when he signed on with Ronald Reagan,” Rockefeller says. “Part of my disappointment in him is he simply ought to know better.”

As for his own gilded pedigree, Rockefeller says he doesn’t foresee it causing any difficulties if he decides to run–though it may take some time for Democrats to get used to the great-grandson of the founder of Standard Oil declaring “it’s time to stop worrying about the wealthy and well-connected.”

“I honestly don’t know if it would be a problem or not,” says Geoff Garin, who has done public polling for Rockefeller. “But remember, this is the party that is proudest of Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy (both from wealthy families), so a Rockefeller would be more in character than out of it.”

SACRAMENTO — A new poll shows that former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter’s support in the 2026 governor’s race dropped after she tangled with a television reporter during a heated interview in October, an incident that rival candidates used to question her temperament.

Porter was the clear front-runner over the summer, but by late October she dropped behind Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican, according to a poll released Friday by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times.

Still, nearly half of the registered voters surveyed remain undecided, evidence that few Californians are paying attention to a race that remains wide open and was eclipsed in recent months by the costly and successful congressional redistricting battle that became a referendum on President Trump. Porter remains the most favored Democratic candidate, which is significant in a state that has not elected a Republican governor since 2006.

“She’s the leading Democrat among the various ones that are in there right now,” said Mark DiCamillo, director of the poll. “But it’s because nobody really on the Democratic side has really jumped out of the pack. It’s kind of a political vacuum at the moment.”

The governor’s race was frozen in stasis for most of the year, first as Californians waited for former Vice President Kamala Harris to decide whether she was going to jump into the race. It wasn’t until late July that Harris announced, no, she was not running. Then, weeks later, Californians became captivated by a special election to reconfigure the state’s congressional districts — which set off a furious, expensive and high-stakes political battle that could help decide which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives.

Now that the special election is over, gubernatorial candidates can “rev up the public to pay attention,” DiCamillo said.

“It’s the time for someone to break through,” he said.

But it won’t be U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla. The senator would have been the top Democrat in the race, but not a heavy favorite, if he decided to jump in, the poll found. Voters gave him the highest favorability rating among all current and potential contenders in the governor’s race. After months of speculation, however, Padilla on Tuesday announced he would forgo a run for governor.

The new poll found that Bianco was supported by 13% of voters in the state, followed by Porter at 11%. The Berkeley poll in August showed that Porter led all candidates with 17% support, with Bianco in second place at 10%.

A Bianco representative said his lead in the polls was evidence that his campaign was resonating with voters.

“It is abundantly clear that Californians are demanding a new path forward,” campaign manager Erica Melendrez said. “Sheriff Bianco represents a safe California, an affordable California, an educated California and a leader with integrity and character that ALL Californians can be proud of.”

DiCamillo said Porter’s 6% drop over those three months was significant, given that the California governor’s race is so tight, but cautioned that it’s still early in the 2026 campaign season and a lot of shifting will happen before the June gubernatorial primary.

Porter’s campaign declined to comment on the drop in support and noted instead that she still led the Democratic field.

“Poll after poll continues to show Katie as the strongest Democrat in the race, driven by a growing coalition of grassroots supporters — not powerful special interests,” spokesperson Peter Opitz said. “Californians know her record of taking on Donald Trump and trust her to tackle our cost crisis, from skyrocketing rent and housing costs to rising healthcare premiums and unaffordable child care.”

Porter came under fire in October after an outburst during an interview with CBS reporter Julie Watts. When the Sacramento-based journalist asked Porter what she would say to Californians who voted for Trump, the UC Irvine law professor responded that she didn’t need their support.

After Watts asked follow-up questions, Porter accused the reporter of being “unnecessarily argumentative,” held up her hands and later said, “I don’t want this all on camera.”

The next day, a 2021 video emerged of Porter berating a staff member during a videoconference with a member of the Biden administration. “Get out of my f— shot!” Porter said to the young woman after she came into view in the background. Porter’s comments in the video were first reported by Politico.

Porter later acknowledged that she mishandled the television news interview, but explained that she felt the reporter’s questioning implied she should cater to Trump’s supporters. Porter also said she apologized to her staff member, saying her remarks were “inappropriate,” that she values her staff and could have handled that situation better.

Her Democratic gubernatorial rivals seized on the videos. Former state Controller Betty Yee called on Porter to drop out of the race, and businessman Stephen Cloobeck and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa attacked her in ads about the uproar.

While difficult to assess, the negative news coverage and publicity surrounding those incidents appear to have taken a toll on Porter’s reputation. No other candidate experienced a similar shift in support.

According to the new poll, 26% of California voters had a favorable opinion of Porter, compared with 33% who saw her unfavorably — with the remainder having no opinion. That’s a major drop from when she was running for the U.S. Senate last year, when 45% of voters had a favorable opinion in February 2024 and 27% were sour on her.

Political scientist Eric Schickler, co-director of the Berkeley institute that conducted the poll, said Porter looks vulnerable, and that makes the governor’s race a more attractive contest for current candidates and those who may be considering joining it.

Aside from Porter and Bianco, the poll found that 8% of voters favored former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democrat; the same percentage backed conservative commentator Steve Hilton. Villaraigosa had support from 5% of voters, Yee 3%, and California Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond 1%. Cloobeck and former Democratic legislator Ian Calderon registered less than 1%.

Another potential candidate — billionaire developer Rick Caruso — was backed by 3% of voters, the poll found. Caruso said Monday night that he still was considering running for either governor or Los Angeles mayor and will decide in a few weeks.

Schickler said the results of Tuesday’s election may be a sign that moderate or business-friendly Democrats — including Caruso — may not fare so well in a state as Democratic as California. Voters across the nation delivered a sharp rebuke to Trump, electing Democrats in major races in New York City, New Jersey and Virginia and passing Proposition 50, the California ballot measure designed to help Democrats take control of the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2026 election.

“Somebody like Caruso, his narrative would probably look a lot stronger if Democrats still seemed on the defensive and in disarray,” Schickler said. “But after Prop. 50 passing, big Democratic wins in New Jersey and Virginia, I think the argument for a need to change what we’re doing dramatically, at least in a state like California, is less likely to resonate.”

The Berkeley IGS/Times poll surveyed 8,141 California registered voters online in English and Spanish from Oct. 20 to 27. The results are estimated to have a margin of error of 2 percentage points in either direction in the overall sample, and larger numbers for subgroups.