Bass, Caruso locked in tight race for LA mayor

LOS ANGELES (CNS) — The expensive and at-times contentious race to become the next mayor of Los Angeles remained in a virtual 5050 deadlock, Wednesday, between developer Rick Caruso and Rep. Karen Bass — and a winner might not be determined for days.

After the candidates traded leads in early returns, Tuesday night, Caruso led Bass by 12,282 votes as of 3:30 a.m., Wednesday — the latest data available from the LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.

Caruso had 51.25% of the vote compared to 48.75% for Bass. The next results will be released, on Friday.

Sarah Leonard Sheahan, Bass’ communications director, said in a statement, Wednesday, that the campaign “feels great” about the early numbers.

“We expect to see support for our campaign build even more as further reports are released, just like we did, in June,” Sheahan said, referring to the mayoral primary, which Bass initially trailed before eventually passing Caruso.

In a post, Wednesday, evening thanking his supporters on Twitter, Caruso said: “I am confident that your support and belief in this campaign will make me the next Mayor-Elect of Los Angeles.”

Tuesday night, in speeches at their respective election night parties, Caruso and Bass acknowledged the race may be too close to call for awhile.

Caruso, walking out at his election night party, Tuesday, at The Grove to the song “Safe And Sound” by Capital Cities, said he didn’t know the outcome yet but they were “starting out strong.”

Caruso, in between chants of “Rick, Rick, Rick,” thanked his supporters for taking “a chance on an unproven candidate who has never run for office.” He spoke about his grandparents immigrating to Boyle Heights, where he cast his ballot, on Tuesday, to remind himself of his family’s humble roots. Caruso said he wanted to provide the chance for everybody to achieve the American Dream.

“This election has always been about those that have been felt left behind and unheard,” Caruso said. “Well let me tell you, I hear you and change will happen.”

In her speech at the Los Angeles County Democratic Party’s election night party at the Hollywood Palladium, Bass said it was “going to be a long night” and that the results might take a few days, before leading the crowd in a chant of “We will win.”

“We will win, we’re going to build a new Los Angeles, and when we win, we have to begin again,” Bass said. “We want a City Hall that’s not just a City Hall for the powerful, not just a City Hall for the wealthy — but a City Hall that is for everyone so that we can have the quality of life that I know that we deserve.”

Bass stated that Los Angeles is “at a crossroads,” and that the election is a “fight for the soul of our city.”

“And I know the soul of our city is based in a set of a values that is reflected in the Democratic Party,” Bass said.

As she finished her speech, “Respect” by Aretha Franklin played over the speakers.

Bass, a six-term member of Congress, is seeking to become the first woman and only the second Black person to lead Los Angeles. Caruso, a billionaire, is looking to win a campaign that’s on track to spend over $100 million — much of it from Caruso’s own fortune — to propel him into contention.

Bass held a comfortable lead in the polls just a month ago, but recent surveys ahead of Election Day showed that Caruso had closed the gap considerably. Bass led Caruso 45% to 41% in a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll conducted from Oct. 25-31 — co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times — with the gap within the margin of error. A Southern California News Group poll conducted by J. Wallin Opinion Research, from Oct. 1517, found a 3-point lead for Caruso, which was also within the margin of error.

An earlier version of the UC Berkeley IGS Poll in early October showed Bass with a 15-point advantage among likely voters.

Experts told City News Service that, while the electorate in Los Angeles favors Bass, the race could hinge on other factors.

“The conventional metrics tell me that Karen Bass is going to win,” said Fernando Guerra, professor of political science at Loyola Marymount University. “However, there are two things: The general discontent with the electorate, and $100 million being spent by Caruso — and that makes a difference, obviously.”

Whoever wins the election will inherit leadership of a city grappling with a scandal that has embroiled City Hall for the past month, after three council members and a top county labor official took part in a leaked conversation, in October 2021, that included racist comments and attempts to manipulate redistricting.

“We’ve had a really volatile month in LA County, and Rick Caruso has made a late push here that clearly has made, at least in the polling, a significant difference,” said Mindy Romero, director of USC’s Center for Inclusive Democracy.

Caruso has connected the scandal to claims that the city political system is broken — exacerbating issues such as homelessness and crime. He painted himself as the candidate of change, blaming a failure of leadership for the City Hall scandal.

“People are spending more time protecting themselves and protecting their jobs than working for the residents of the city,” Caruso said during the final mayoral debate, on Oct. 11. “This is why we have crime out of control.”