Who will be Los Angeles’ next mayor? Tuesday night, U.S. Representative Karen Bass and developer Rick Caruso were almost tied in the contest for control of the nation’s second-largest city.
Bass and Caruso traded the lead as more results came in from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office, but no candidate managed to pull away by more than a few thousand votes.
Bass, a former state Assembly leader who has the advantage of being a lifetime Democrat in a city where Republicans are essentially nonexistent, is the favorite in a close mayoral election.
She has been pledging to use her abilities as a coalition builder to heal a wounded city, and she has the support of President Joe Biden and the Democratic establishment.
Caruso is running on a platform of a sudden shift in course, contending that Bass and other seasoned politicians are contributing factors in the issues that have caused L.A. to experience numerous catastrophes.
To address the rising crime rate, he pledges to strengthen the police force. He also vows to remove homeless camps off the streets as soon as possible.
Even hours after the polls closed, the contest was still too close to call.
The winner will take over for embattled Democrat Eric Garcetti, whose candidacy for the position of U.S. ambassador to India has presumably been blocked in the Senate because of sexual misconduct claims against a former top Garcetti staffer. Garcetti will end two unbalanced terms.
| Caruso | 50.3% | 212,430 votes (2,809 ahead) |
| Bass | 49.7% | 209,621 votes |
