As the Los Angeles mayoral results continue to trickle in, U.S. Rep. Karen Bass was closing in on businessman Rick Caruso’s thin lead in the bid to replace termed-out Eric Garcetti.
On the evening of Nov. 10, Caruso, 63, won 50.25 percent of the vote, while Bass held 49.75 percent, according to the county clerk’s office. The next update will be available on the late afternoon of Nov. 11.
The race, which was already close prior to the Nov. 8 deadline to cast ballots, narrowed when Caruso’s lead fell from a 12,282 difference in votes to just 2,695.
“As predicted, this is a close race. There are hundreds of thousands of votes to count and as expected we are going to see different results each time. I continue to be cautiously optimistic about these numbers and look forward to the next series of results in the coming weeks,” Caruso wrote on Twitter on Nov. 10.
Before the latest results, Caruso held a 2.5 percent lead over Bass. The county clerk said they will post the next update Nov. 11 afternoon. In the June primary, Caruso lagged behind Bass by 7 percent.
Bass, 69, said Nov. 9 that her campaign feels “great about the numbers so far.”
“As we await the next rounds of updates, know we’re already rolling up our sleeves to launch urgent solutions for homelessness, crime and affordability,” she wrote on Twitter.
Vice President Kamala Harris visited Los Angeles and stood with Bass on Election Day as voters headed to the polls. Even though the race to become mayor is nonpartisan, both candidates are registered Democrats.
Bass is running on a platform to keep Los Angeles’s values progressive and has received endorsements from former President Barack Obama, President Joe Biden, former Secretary Hillary Clinton, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and dozens of other state and federal Democrats.
Caruso, a billionaire builder known for constructing some of Los Angeles’ most beloved malls and plazas, registered as a Democrat before entering the race in February, was previously an Independent and before that, a Republican. He is endorsed by the Los Angeles Protective League and several celebrities such as music manager Scooter Braun, Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, Chris Pratt, and Snoop Dogg.
Early polls showed Bass in the lead since she joined the race in September 2021. Caruso announced his campaign in February. Caruso has spent nearly $100 million, mostly from his own pocket, while Bass raised $7 million for her campaign.
Angelenos took to Twitter to discuss the latest results, reacting to how close the race has been.
“You know how mediocre you have to be to be struggling while dropping that much cash into this race?” said Karla Monterroso, a Twitter user, referring to Caruso Nov. 9.
Another user, progressive activist Film the Police LA said on Twitter: “The only reason that Bass & Caruso are close is because Karen ran an atrocious campaign. If she were competent she would have easily won by double digits.”
Some wrote in support of Caruso.
“It’s embarrassing how trashy and unsafe LA has become. We need a proven leader with a track history of success to make LA the amazing City we all know it can be. You sir are that person!” Chris Pittman wrote, saying he is “confident” Caruso will “clean up LA.”
Homelessness and public safety are top concerns for Angelenos this election, early polls showed, as both homelessness and crime increased.
The latest update reported 134,099 ballots processed since Election Day, according to the clerk’s office. The latest cumulative total was more than 1.45 million votes, or 25.8 percent of registered voters in the county, with 883,300 remaining ballots to be counted.
There will be a total of eight election updates with the final results expected Dec. 5, according to the county.
