Kamala Harris endorses L.A. Mayor Karen Bass for reelection

Former Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for reelection on Monday.

“Mayor Karen Bass is the leader Los Angeles needs right now. She has done what many said couldn’t be done — reduced homelessness for the first time in two years, reduced crime to levels this city hasn’t seen since the 1960s, and refused to back down when the federal government went after our neighbors,” Harris said in a statement. “He has my full support for re-election.”

The confirmation comes as ballots begin arriving in Californians’ mailboxes at a critical moment in the race to lead the nation’s second-largest city. Although Bass is ahead in the polls, he is viewed negatively by many Angelenos due to his perceived lack of leadership in the wake of the devastating Palisades fire.

A quarter of voters backed Bass in a March poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Government Studies, co-sponsored by The Times. City Councilwoman Nithya Raman had 17 percent support, while conservative reality TV star Spencer Pratt had 14 percent. A quarter of voters were undecided.

Although Bass leads other leading mayoral candidates, political strategists say the numbers are troubling for the incumbent because he faces lesser-known opponents and 56% view him unfavorably. Pratt and Raman raised more money than Bass through April 18 this year, according to fundraising disclosures filed with the city’s Ethics Commission. But Bass had about $2.3 million in the bank because he had started fundraising for his re-election bid two years ago.

Although Bass and Harris are rivals for selection as presidential candidate Joe Biden’s running mate in 2020, the two Democrats have known each other for more than two decades and have a long shared history. Bass was sworn in by Harris as the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles in 2022. Two years later, at the Democratic National Convention, where Harris was the party’s presidential nominee, Bass talked about working with her on youth homelessness and fixing the child welfare system more than a decade ago, when Bass led the California Assembly and Harris was state attorney.

Harris also endorsed the re-election of Rob Bonta as state attorney general, the re-election of Malia Cohen as state comptroller, and the election of Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis as state treasurer. Here’s a look at those races and others on the ballot.