The Democratic congresswoman will take over the nation’s second-largest city at a time when it is embroiled in controversy and division.
U.S. Rep. Karen Bass was elected the next mayor of Los Angeles on Wednesday, taking the reins in the nation’s second-largest city during an intense period of soul-searching as it reels from a racism scandal and seeks fresh answers to seemingly intractable problems like homelessness and corruption.
The Democratic congresswoman prevailed over billionaire real estate developer and fellow Democrat Rick Caruso to become the first woman elected to lead the city and just its second Black mayor. The race, Los Angeles’s most expensive contest ever, remained close until the final days of a week-long count, when Bass pulled decisively ahead and never lost her advantage. As of Wednesday evening, Bass held an insurmountable lead of just over six percentage points, and the Associated Press projected her the winner.
“The people of Los Angeles have sent a clear message: it is time for change and it is time for urgency,” Bass said in a statement following her victory. “Los Angeles is the greatest city on earth. I know, if we come together, hold each other accountable and focus on the best of who we are and what we can achieve, we can create better neighborhoods today and a better future for our children.”
In Los Angeles, a liberal city that hasn’t elected a Republican mayor in more than two decades, Bass pitched herself as the progressive choice. But she also carried the imprimatur of the party establishment, winning endorsements from Democratic heavyweights like former president Barack Obama, President Biden and Vice President Harris. At a rally on the eve of the election, Harris, a fellow Californian, praised Bass for “fighting for the people whose voices aren’t in the room but must be present.”
Nonetheless, Bass faced a formidable challenge from Caruso, who sank $100 million of his own money into the race and looked to seize on Angelenos’ growing frustration with an uptick in violent crime.
“She was being outspent 10-to-1, but her reputation, connections, experience and base of support turned out to be too much for him to overcome — he would’ve beaten anyone but Karen Bass,” said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University in Los Angeles. “Her coalition held against what could have been seen as an overwhelming challenge, and not to mention a lot of unhappiness locally about the state of the city.”
Until recently, Caruso was a registered Republican, and his election would have represented a rightward lurch for the city. He promised to swell the city’s police force to record levels and build temporary housing to shelter 30,000 homeless people in his first 300 days in office. Bass has called Caruso’s proposal unrealistic and pledged to house about 17,000 people in her first year.
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In a concession statement, Caruso said his run “made an indelible impact on this city and its people that will last far beyond the campaign trail or Election Day.”
“We elevated the discourse of the campaign and focused attention on the issues that matter,” he said.
While some of his new party’s biggest names spurned him, Caruso received several splashy celebrity endorsements in a city of stars, including from Snoop Dogg, Kim Kardashian and Katy Perry.
