2026 Los Angeles mayoral election
June 2, 2026
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The 2026 Los Angeles mayoral election will be held on June 2, 2026, to elect the mayor of Los Angeles, California.[1] If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, a runoff election will be held on November 3, 2026. Incumbent mayor Karen Bass announced her re-election bid in July 2024.[2]
Background
Karen Bass was elected mayor of Los Angeles in 2022, defeating businessman Rick Caruso in the most expensive election in the city's history.[3] Having emerged as a vocal critic of Bass's administration in the wake of the January 2025 Southern California wildfires,[4][5][6] Caruso may seek a rematch in the 2026 election.[7]
Candidates
Declared
- Asaad Alnajjar, Porter Ranch neighborhood councilor and candidate for Los Angeles's 12th City Council district in 2020[8]
- Karen Bass, incumbent mayor[2]
- Austin Beutner, former superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District[9]
- Rae Huang, housing advocacy executive[10]
- Vincent Wali, musician[8]
Publicly expressed interest
- Rick Caruso, founder of Caruso and runner-up for mayor in 2022[11]
Declined
- Kenneth Mejia, Los Angeles City Controller (2022–present)[8]
- Traci Park, city councilor from the 11th district (2022–present)[8]
Endorsements
Karen Bass
- U.S. representatives
- Sydney Kamlager-Dove, CA-37 (2023–present)[12]
- State Legislators
- Steve Bradford, SD-35 (2016–2024)[13]
- Isaac Bryan, AD-55 (2021–present)[13]
- Sade Elhawary, AD-57 (2024–present)[13][13]
- Mike Fong, AD-49 (2022–present)[13]
- Jesse Gabriel, AD-46 (2018–present)[13]
- Fabian Nunez, former Speaker of the California State Assembly (2004–2008) from 46th district (2002–2008)[14]
- Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, SD-28 (2022–present)[13]
- Los Angeles city councilors
- Marqueece Harris-Dawson, city council president (2024–present) from the 8th district (2015–present)[13]
- Heather Hutt, 10th district (2022–2023, 2023–present)[13]
- Adrin Nazarian, 2nd district (2024–present)[13]
- Curren Price, 9th district (2013–present)[13]
- Hugo Soto-Martinez, 13th district (2022–present)[10]
- Individuals
- Yvette Nicole Brown, actress[12]
- Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, rabbi[12]
- Karim Webb, restauranteur[12]
- Labor unions
Declined to endorse
- Organizations
- East Area Progressive Democrats[15]
See also
- 2026 Los Angeles elections
- 2026 Los Angeles County elections
- 2026 California elections
- 2026 United States local elections
References
- ^ "Dates and Deadlines". Close the Gap California. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
- ^ a b Zahniser, David (July 1, 2024). "L.A. Mayor Karen Bass launches her reelection bid, saying, 'We cannot afford to stop our momentum'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
- ^ Hyde, Carter; Kahn, Gabriel (November 4, 2022). "Mountains of Money in the 2022 Race for L.A. Mayor, As Visualized in Four Charts". KCET. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
- ^ "Palisades shop owner questions why private firefighters saved nearby stores, not hers". KTLA. February 12, 2025. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
- ^ Saul, Derek (January 8, 2025). "'There's No Water Coming Out Of The Fire Hydrants': Billionaire Caruso Becomes Top L.A. Fires Critic". Forbes. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
- ^ Arango, Tim; Baker, Mike; Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas (January 9, 2025). "'Completely Dry': How Los Angeles Firefighters Ran Out of Water". The New York Times. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
- ^ Smith, Dakota (June 1, 2024). "Rick Caruso stokes talk about his political ambitions". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Wick, Julia; Zahniser, David (April 9, 2025). "Mayor Karen Bass is looking vulnerable. But will anyone challenge her in 2026?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
- ^ Jones, Blake (October 13, 2025). "Austin Beutner launches bid to unseat Karen Bass in LA mayoral race". Politico. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- ^ a b Goldberg, Noah; Zahniser, David (November 15, 2025). "She's challenging Bass from the left. Could she become L.A.'s Mamdani?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Marques, Felipe (September 3, 2025). "Billionaire Caruso 'Seriously' Looking at Running for Mayor or Governor". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on September 3, 2025. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Brown, Lila (December 17, 2025). "Mayor Karen Bass Launches Reelection Campaign with Broad Coalition Rally at LATTC". LA Sentinel. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Herrera, Josh (December 14, 2025). "LA Mayor Karen Bass launches re-election campaign with rally in downtown". KABC-TV. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
- ^ Gardiner, Dustin; Jones, Blake (December 15, 2025). "California Democrats have a big math problem". Politico. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
- ^ "East Area Progressive Democrats: Endorsements". East Area Progressive Democrats. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
External links
Official campaign websites