Full Breakdown
Rick Caruso Announces He Will Vote for Mayor Karen Bass in Los Angeles Election
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
Eight days before the upcoming November election, billionaire developer and former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso said he will cast his ballot for incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. In a statement posted to Instagram and reiterated in a televised interview, Caruso said his decision reflects Bass’s “learning on the job” and her cooperation on rebuilding after the 2025 Palisades fire. He stopped short of calling the announcement an endorsement but emphasized that “for the love of LA, I must put the past behind me.”
Background & Context
Caruso entered the 2022 mayoral race as a billionaire outsider, spending more than $100 million of personal funds—about $104 million according to campaign filings—and losing to Bass in a runoff. The two have since worked together on recovery efforts following the devastating 2025 Palisades fire, during which Bass’s office expedited permits and city resources to help rebuild Caruso’s Palisades Village shopping center.
The 2026 race pits Bass against City Councilmember Nithya Raman, a democratic-socialist candidate who leads in recent polling. Bass finished first in the June 2 primary with 34.3 % of the vote, ahead of Raman’s 28.6 % and former reality-TV star Spencer Pratt’s 25.8 % (June 2, scheduled). A later University of California-Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll showed Raman ahead 39 % to 28 % with a third of voters undecided.
Data & Statistics
- 2022 Caruso campaign spending: ? $104 million (personal).
- Caruso’s net worth: ? $7.1 billion.
- June 2 primary results: Bass 34.3 %, Raman 28.6 %, Pratt 25.8 %.
- UC Berkeley poll (Sept. 15-20): Raman 39 % vs. Bass 28 %; 33 % undecided.
- As of Oct. 25, 651,528 ballots had been cast statewide, including early and mail-in votes.
- The Palisades fire destroyed more than 6,800 structures and killed at least 12 people.
Official Statements & Responses
Nithya Raman’s campaign declined to comment on Caruso’s announcement.
Criticism & Opposition
Caruso criticized Raman’s proposal to replace Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell, calling the plan “reckless and dangerous” and warning that it would harm police morale ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games. He framed his opposition as a matter of competence rather than ideology.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Polling data present divergent pictures of the race. The June 2 primary showed Bass in the lead, while the later UC Berkeley poll placed Raman ahead by a double-digit margin. No source provides a definitive post-primary trend analysis, leaving the impact of Caruso’s endorsement on undecided voters unclear.
Verbatim Quotes
- “For the love of LA, I must put the past behind me,” — Rick Caruso, spokesperson
- “This is no time to turn the LAPD into a laboratory for risky DSA social experimentation,” — Rick Caruso, spokesperson
- “I will be casting my ballot for Mayor Karen Bass,” — Rick Caruso, spokesperson
- “I hear you—I want some change too, but the alternative does not actually get us where we want to be," Park told her constituents.” — City Councilmember Traci Park
- “It is not so much about ideology, but about competence — her lack of executive experience,” — Rick Caruso, spokesperson