Nothing may ever top Richard Nixon shaking Elvis Presley’s hand or testily insisting “I am not a crook.“

Not “B1 Bob” Dornan yanking a congressional colleague’s necktie and calling him a draft-dodging wimp. Not Loretta Sanchez’s crazy Christmas cards, or how she dabbed during a debate with the woman who is now vice president of the United States.

While Orange County has given the nation a colorful cast of political characters, Katie Porter’s recent bit of political theater stands out. While her Republican counterparts in the U.S. House of Representatives tried to devour one another like cane toad tadpoles (who feast on their kin) last week, Porter sat in the chamber with beatific calm on her face, perusing “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a (family publication, use your imagination).”

The image went viral. And with that wind at her back, Porter declared her intention to run for the U.S. Senate seat now occupied by longtime Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday, Jan. 10.

A progressive Democrat already known for her professorial “White Board of Justice” — which has its own Twitter fandom — Porter is putting the world on notice that this isn’t your grandma’s Orange County.

“Most of us in Southern California have understood for a long time how dramatically Orange County has changed, politically, over the years, but this might be the first opportunity for the rest of the country to really understand that,” said Dan Schnur, a veteran of political campaigns who teaches at USC and UC Berkeley.

“Katie Porter is part of a long tradition of Orange County politicians with larger-than-life personalities. And as an Angeleno, my guess is that, because Orange County is so often perceived to be in L.A.’s shadow, a political leader needs to try that much harder to get noticed in a very large and competitive media market,” he continued.

“There’s a performative aspect to politics, and she figured it out very quickly and uses it to her great benefit.”

Unlike some other pols, though, Porter brings true policy expertise to the table, said Louis DeSipio, political science professor at UC Irvine.

“I would put her — not ideologically in any way — but in the Nixon camp,” he said. “For all his faults, Nixon was serious about issues and developed a national reputation for his expertise, and I would think of Porter in a similar way. She has used her experience studying bankruptcy as a scholar and working for the (California) Attorney General (as the state’s independent monitor of banks in a nationwide $25 billion mortgage settlement) to carve out a niche in the house. That’s hard these days, when the nature of things is a lot of partisan squabbling.”

She may lose a bit of ground for challenging Feinstein, the scholars said, but being the first to declare and grab the spotlight is likely to more than make up for that.

Who are O.C.’s other colorful pols who hit the national stage?

Nixon, Yorba Linda and San Clemente: Established reputation as a leading anti-Communist in the 1940s. Won the presidency in 1968, opened the door to China, pulled out of Vietnam, formed the Environmental Protection Agency. Had an unfortunate habit of taping conversations, cussed a lot, tolerated “dirty tricks” in the quest for re-election, resigned office to avoid impeachment (how old fashioned). Indelible image: Nixon in a dark suit and shiny dress shoes, strolling the beach in San Clemente.

“B1 Bob” Dornan, Garden Grove: Conservative firebrand who said, “Every lesbian spear chucker in this country is hoping I get defeated” in 1992; publicly outed fellow Republican Rep. Steve Gunderson as gay on the House floor in 1994 (saying Gunderson had a “revolving door on his closet”); accused President Bill Clinton of giving “aid and comfort to the enemy” during the Vietnam War. “Unswerving advocate” for the development of the B-1 bomber. Accused Loretta Sanchez, who won his seat by a baby’s breath in 1996, of being a “pretend Hispanic” who masterminded the “worst voter fraud in this century.”

Dana Rohrabacher, Huntington Beach: Surfer, guitar player, folk singer, songwriter. Speechwriter and special assistant to President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1988. Went on to the House of Representatives. Favored the legalization of cannabis and prohibition of illegal immigrants from acquiring government services. Opposed the National Endowment of the Arts and same-sex marriage. Said global warming was part of a liberal game plan to create global government, joked that earlier warming cycles may have been caused by dinosaur flatulence.

Christopher Cox, Newport Beach, Laguna Niguel: Senior associate counsel to the president during Ronald Reagan’s second term, Congressman, 28th chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Befriended two anti-Communists in Hungary and Lithuania who later became presidents of their countries. Not “colorful,” perhaps, but a major conservative player that O.C. gave the world.

Loretta Sanchez, Anaheim: Started out as a registered Republican but broke with the GOP in 1992 over how it “marginalized” immigrants and women. Beat Dornan in two brutal battles as a Dem, served on the Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, voted against authorizing the invasion of Iraq but for appropriation bills funding it, got in trouble for mocking Native Americans by eliciting a “war cry.”  Mystified many for dabbing during debate with Kamala Harris. Famous for Christmas cards featuring her cat Gretzky.

Whoever replaces Feinstein will have a lot to live up to. Her successor will almost certainly be more progressive and more partisan, a reflection of modern times and California’s Democratic electorate, said UCI political science professor Matthew Beckmann.

It takes a ton of time, a ton of people, and a ton of money to campaign in a state as big and diverse as California, he said, making widespread name recognition and a strong donor base vital.

Porter has all that. Porter and her whiteboard may add a very interesting twist to this cast of characters.