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Residents of Los Angeles have elected Karen Bass as mayor, vote projections indicated Wednesday, making her the first woman to head America’s second biggest city.
Lifelong Democrat Bass, who is Black and a longtime US congresswoman, beat an immensely well-funded challenge from former Republican property developer Rick Caruso, who spent an eye-watering $100 million of his own money on the race.
Caruso, 63, who is white, outspent his 69-year-old opponent by a factor of more than 11, blanketing local airwaves with slick commercials promising to fix Los Angeles’ intractable homeless problem.
But despite shedding his Republican Party membership and registering as a Democrat at the start of the year, it wasn’t enough to convince liberal Los Angeles.
