ENCINO, Calif.—Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer dropped out of the race for mayor on Tuesday, May 17, and announced his support for his former opponent, Rep. Karen Bass.
Feuer joined Bass at a news conference in Encino to formally endorse her campaign.
“I want to thank the city attorney for his endorsement today,” Bass said. “Our city is at a crossroads: will we come together to bring Los Angeles to a more just future? Or will we go backwards with strategies that we know will not work and surrender to fear? I’m running for mayor to lead this city to a brighter future for everyone.”
The end of Feuer’s campaign comes just five days after Councilman Joe Buscaino ended his run for mayor and endorsed billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso. Caruso and bBass are the two front runners in the race, according to recent polls.
Bass’s team released the results on May 12 of a poll commissioned by her campaign that had her leading the race with 30 percent of likely voters and Caruso coming in at 28 percent. That poll, which was conducted by EVITARUS, put Buscaino at 2 percent and Feuer at 3 percent. More than a quarter of likely voters were undecided.
Noting his low poll numbers, Feuer said, “I’ve done a lot of soul-searching and I need to do what is best for our city. That means stepping aside and supporting an exceptional candidate who can win—who must win—because the stakes for Los Angeles could hardly be higher.”
“I’m proud to stand here with my longtime friend, colleague and partner to endorse, in the strongest possible terms, Karen Bass for mayor of Los Angeles. Karen is a great listener, treats everyone with respect, has values and is less focused on who gets the credit than about accomplishing big things.”
Feuer, who frequently attacked Caruso during his campaign, ended his run on a similar note, calling out the billionaire for self-financing his campaign with nearly $23 million. Feuer called it a “disingenuous attempt to buy the mayor’s office.”
“...It’s Karen, not Caruso, who should govern our city, and I’m going to do all I can now to support her,” Feuer added.
Ballots have already been mailed to city voters, and voting ends June 7.
The primary ballot—sent out before Buscaino and Feuer ended their campaigns—includes Buscaino, Feuer, Caruso, Bass, Councilman Kevin de León, activist Gina Viola, real estate agent Mel Wilson, business executive Craig Greiwe, social justice advocate Alex Gruenenfelder Smith, lawyer Andrew Kim, entrepreneur Ramit Varma, and business owner John “Jsamuel” Jackson.
