Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rep. Karen Bass speaks at an election night party on November 9, 2022. (Maxim Elramsisy/California Black Media)

Karen Bass Widens Lead Over Rick Caruso  – City News Service, Nov. 12, at 4:42 p.m.

Congresswoman Karen Bass widened her lead to more than 9,000 votes on Saturday, Nov. 12, over developer Rick Caruso in the Los Angeles mayoral election as ballots continue to be counted.
On Saturday, the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk posted the latest numbers, with Bass at 306,990 votes to Caruso’s 297,527, for a 50.7% to 49.3% lead.  The next update will be provided Monday, Nov. 14, between 4 and 5 p.m., according to election officials. Further updates will be announced every Tuesday and Friday until all ballots are tallied.

Update: Bass Pulls Ahead of Caruso – Friday, Nov. 11, at 4:09 p.m.

The optimism expressed by Congresswoman Karen Bass is proving true as the latest numbers show her in the lead in the race for mayor of Los Angeles. According to the latest count posted at 4:09 p.m. today by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, Bass has collected 289,782 votes to Caruso’s 285,398, for a lead of 50.38% to 49.62%.  Hundreds of thousands of ballots remain uncounted and a winner might not be determined for days or even weeks. Further updates will be announced every Tuesday and Friday until all ballots are tallied.  Sarah Leonard Sheahan, Bass’ communications director, said in a statement after Thursday’s results that the campaign was confident Bass would eventually prevail. “In the coming days, the voice of the people of Los Angeles will be heard and we feel confident that we will win,’” Sheahan said.   – City News Service contributed to this report.

Update: Bass Trims Caruso’s Lead  – On Thursday, Nov. 10, at 5 p.m., Eric He of City News Service filed the following report:

Karen Bass trimmed Rick Caruso’s lead in the race to become the next mayor of Los Angeles, according to updated election returns released today by the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.
Bass trailed Caruso Thursday by just under 2,700 votes — down from a 12,000-vote deficit early Wednesday morning, when the clerk’s office last released an update. An additional 134,099 vote-by-mail ballots returned through Election Day were added to the vote count Thursday afternoon, bringing the total ballots counted to 1,452,192.  The next update will be Friday afternoon, with subsequent updates every Tuesday and Friday until all ballots are tallied.  Caruso and Bass remain locked in a virtual 50-50 deadlock, and a winner might not be determined for days or even weeks.

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The Los Angeles mayor’s race remains undecided as of Los Angeles Sentinel press time.  After a grueling campaign weekend with the Bass Bus Tour cruising every part of the Los Angeles and the mayoral candidate pressing hands with excited electorate, Tuesday came down to voter turnout.

When initial numbers came out at around 9 p.m., Bass held a slim lead over Caruso only to fall slightly behind him minutes later when new numbers were posted.  Currently, Caruso leads Bass 51.25% to 48.75%, but the Bass campaign remains hopeful and positive.

This positivity comes on the heels of the primary election in June where Caruso came out early with about a 5% lead, but the Bass campaign surged back to ultimately win the election by over 7%.

At a campaign celebration held at the Hollywood Palladium, Karen Bass addressed the audience and remained totally optimistic, telling everyone that, “We are going to win this race,” and stressing the greatness of Los Angeles and the residents who live here.

Related Links:

https://lasentinel.net/watchformer-mayor-antonio-villaraigosa-encourages-a-new-mark-in-history-with-karen-bass-as-mayor-of-la.html

https://lasentinel.net/watchformer-mayor-antonio-villaraigosa-encourages-a-new-mark-in-history-with-karen-bass-as-mayor-of-la.html

https://lasentinel.net/community-gives-big-support-to-karen-bass-for-mayor.html

 

Karen Bass addresses the crowd at a neighborhood rally on Nov. 7. (Rickey Brown)

The campaign has been a demanding with billionaire developer Rick Caruso spending over $100,000,000, mostly on television commercials attacking Bass and her character.  But, citizens said they know more about Karen Bass than what the commercials insinuate.

Charisse Bremond-Weaver, president of the Los Angeles Brotherhood Crusade, said, “We know Karen Bass because we have worked in the trenches with her for years. She is a woman of exceptional character who cares deeply for this city, this country and the world.  She is the person I believe can move this city forward and I remain hopeful that when all the votes are counted, she will be our next mayor.”

Bass greets Martin Ludlow, who organized the rally in the Baldwin Vista community. (Rickey Brown)

A rainy election day is usually a bad sign for voter turnout.  But, since the COVID-19 pandemic, voting has become much easier with everyone encouraged to vote by mail.  Turnout at the polls was low, but that may have been because of new voter methodology rather than a willingness to vote.

Votes could have been dropped off at voter boxes spread out throughout the city or could have been mailed free of charge and all votes need to be at the county clerk’s office no later than Friday, November 11, via U.S. Mail.

4 – Ed Sanders and his wife show support for Karen Bass. (Rickey Brown)

Are there enough votes still to be counted to once again make Karen Bass the winner? We don’t know, but we will see.  The election won’t be certified for at least 30 days and the count is expected to last about two weeks.

Who will win we don’t know, but all of Los Angeles remains hopeful. Visit lasentinel.net for the latest updates on election results.