2022 Los Angeles mayoral election

The 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the mayor of Los Angeles, California. A top-two primary was held on June 7, 2022. Candidates could win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote, but no candidate received a majority. More than forty candidates formed committees to run. Twenty-seven filed their declaration of intention to collect signatures for the ballot, and of these, twelve qualified. There were a total of 2,120,515 registered voters within the city of Los Angeles. The election was nonpartisan, as are all local elections in California.

Incumbent Mayor Eric Garcetti was ineligible to seek a third term due to term limits, but was serving an extended second term due to a law moving election dates from an "off-year election" to a midterm and statewide election year. In July 2021, Garcetti was nominated to become U.S. ambassador to India. If Garcetti left office before his mayoral term ended, the Los Angeles City Council would have appointed an interim replacement to finish the remainder of that term. This nomination was stalled in the Senate, leaving Garcetti to finish his term. U.S. Representative Karen Bass and real estate developer Rick Caruso advanced to the general election. On November 16, Bass was declared the winner.

Candidates

Advanced to general election Karen Bass, U.S. representative from and former speaker of the California State Assembly Rick Caruso, CEO of Caruso Affiliated, developer of The Grove at Farmers Market and The Americana at Brand, president of the University of Southern California board of trustees, former president of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, and former member of the Los Angeles Board of Water and Power and the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission

Eliminated in primary Kevin de León, city councilmember from the 14th district, candidate for the US Senate in 2018 and former President pro tempore of the California State Senate Craig Greiwe, business executive Alex Gruenenfelder Smith, Echo Park neighborhood councilman John "Jsamuel" Jackson, business owner Andrew Kim, lawyer Gina Viola, community organizer/activist Mel Wilson, real estate agent and former Metro board member

Disqualified Louis De Barraicua, teacher and self-described homeless advocate Barry "Boenvilla" Boen, CEO of SilentRight Chuck Cho YJ Draiman, former Northridge East Neighborhood councilmember and father of David Draiman Austin Dragon, veteran and education advocate Sean Enright, construction worker Jesse N. Forte, self-described astronaut Chris Gilmore, business owner Jesseca Harvey, business administrative consultant Evan Jasek, web developer G. Juan Johnson, housing advocate (write-in) Juanita Lopez, businesswoman Alicia Tashaunna Lowery, children's social worker Asher Luzzatto, developer William "Rodriguez" Morrison, community organizer and perennial candidate (write-in) Jemiss Nazar, chiropractor Vincent "King Spider-D" Willis, community activist

Withdrawn Joe Buscaino, city councilmember from the 15th district and former LAPD officer (remained on ballot; endorsed Caruso) Mike Feuer, Los Angeles city attorney and former state assemblyman from the 42nd district (remained on ballot; endorsed Bass) Jessica Lall, business executive (endorsed Caruso) Helan Mahmood, co-founder of fashion brand Don Kaka Joseph May, urban designer, artist, and entrepreneur Ramit Varma, co-founder of Revolution Prep (remained on ballot; endorsed Caruso)

Declined Austin Beutner, former superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District and 2013 mayoral candidate Mike Bonin, city councilmember from the 11th district Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company Paul Krekorian, city councilmember from the 2nd district and former state assemblyman from the 43rd district Steve Lopez, journalist Nury Martinez, president of the Los Angeles City Council from the 6th district Mark Ridley-Thomas, suspended city councilmember from the 10th district and former Los Angeles County supervisor

Primary Campaign

With an open race for mayor, Karen Bass announced that she would retire from Congress and run for Los Angeles mayor. Bass was widely seen as the favorite frontrunner, with other moderates and progressives polling much lower and divided amongst themselves. The wide lead led to speculation that Bass would have been able to avoid a runoff all together. Real estate developer Rick Caruso had announced that he would run after speculation in past races and polled in the single digits. However, during the spring of 2022, Caruso saw a surge of support rivaling that of Bass.

As the primary neared, many prominent candidates dropped out and endorsed the two frontrunners, Bass representing the progressive element of the race and Caruso representing the moderate element. This had been shown with two former mayoral candidates: Joe Buscaino, a city councilmember, endorsed Caruso, and Mike Feuer, the Los Angeles city attorney, endorsed Bass. Councilmember Kevin de León also had significant support but lagged behind Bass and Caruso, and ultimately did not advance to the general election.

Debates

On December 12, 2021, the Stonewall Democratic Club hosted a forum with candidates Bass, Feuer, Lall, and Greiwe. Buscaino and de León cancelled last minute due to scheduling conflicts. On February 22, 2022, Loyola Marymount University alongside Spectrum News 1 hosted the first formal debate between candidates, with Caruso absent because of a scheduling issue. During the debate, protesters started heckling them, resulting in them attempting to rush the stage near the end of the debate.

On March 22, 2022, FOX 11 along with the Los Angeles Times hosted a debate at the University of Southern California with Bass, Buscaino, Caruso, de León, and Feuer. Although most of the other candidates attacked Caruso, many people said that Caruso had won the debate.

On April 28, 2022, ABC7 announced that they would be hosting a debate at California State University, Los Angeles with the top five leading candidates. In response to the list, candidates Craig Greiwe, Alex Gruenenfelder Smith, Gina Viola, and Mel Wilson criticized their exclusion at the debates and the organizers. Candidate Ramit Varma later released a statement criticizing his exclusion at debates. During the Sunday debate, police removed Melina Abdullah, a professor at Cal State LA and Black Lives Matter founder, as well as other protesters from the room, as they did not have a tickets to the event.

The issues discussed at the debates were homelessness, the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, crime, and climate change.

Mayoral debates and forums 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election primary debates and forums Date Host Moderator(s) Link Participants Key: Participant Absent Non-invitee Withdrew Not yet entered race Bass Buscaino Caruso de León Feuer Greiwe Gruenenfelder Lall Varma ViolaWilsonDecember 12, 2021Stonewall Democrats of California Minority AIDS Project National Association of Black JournalistsJarrett Hill Tanya McRaeVideo O February 19, 2022Heart of Los Angeles Invest In Youth CoalitionKelvin WashingtonVideo W February 22, 2022Loyola Marymount University Spectrum News 1Fernando Guerra Giselle FernándezVideo March 15, 2022Los Angeles Business Council Spectrum News 1Alex CohenVideo March 21, 2022Temple Beth HillelErika D. SmithVideo March 22, 2022FOX 11 University of Southern California Los Angeles TimesElex Michaelson Erika D. SmithVideo March 26, 2022National Union of Healthcare Workers Courage CaliforniaSophia Mendoza Irene KhaoVideo April 12, 2022Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters ABC7Josh HaskellVideo April 30, 2022Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles Koreatown Immigrant Workers AllianceAndrew Menor May 1, 2022League of Women Voters California State University, Los Angeles ABC7Marc Brown May 16, 2022Los Angeles Latino Equity and Diversity InitiativeGabriel Lerner Claudia BateraVideo W May 18, 2022University of California, Los AngelesBineh NdefruVideo W May 20, 2022Los Angeles Times KCRWAnna Scott Gustavo Arellano Video May 24, 2022ICM Partners PoliticoJeremy B. White W

Endorsements

Polling Graphical summary

Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin KarenBass JoeBuscaino RickCaruso Kevin MikeFeuer Other UndecidedBerkeley IGSBerkeley IGSMay 24–31, 20221,204 (RV)± 2.9%25%0%23%6%3%8%35%816 (LV)± 3.5%38%1%32%6%3%4%15% May 24, 2022 Varma drops out and endorses Caruso May 17, 2022 Feuer drops out and endorses BassFM3 Research (D)FM3 Research (D)May 13–17, 2022798 (LV)± 3.1%35%1%37%6%6%6%10%David Binder Research (D)David Binder Research (D)May 12–16, 2022500 (LV)± 4.4%34%–32%7%–5%17% May 12, 2022 Buscaino drops out and endorses CarusoEVITARUS (D)EVITARUS (D)May 2022– (LV)–30%2%28%–3%––Berkeley IGSBerkeley IGSMarch 29 – April 5, 20221,380 (LV)± 3.5%23%1%24%6%2%6%39%Berkeley IGSBerkeley IGSFebruary 3–10, 20221,446 (LV)± 4.0%32%4%8%8%4%4%40%Loyola Marymount UniversityLoyola Marymount UniversityJanuary 4 – February 10, 20221,000 (A)± 3.1%14%7%6%12%6%9%46%815 (RV)± 3.4%16%8%6%12%7%10%42% February 8, 2022 Lall drops out September 16, 2021 Martinez announces she will not run August 16, 2021 Ridley-Thomas announces he will not run and endorses BassFM3 Research (D)FM3 Research (D)July 29 – August 5, 2021803 (LV)± 3.5%22%5%6%6%4%12%45%

Results

Runoff Debates + 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election debates Date Host Moderator Link ParticipantsKey: Participant Absent Non-invitee Invitee WithdrawnKaren BassRick Caruso 1 Sept. 21, 2022 Los Angeles Times Elex Michelson, Erika Smith, Gabriela Teissier Video 2 Oct. 6, 2022 KNX Charles Feldman, Mike Simpson Video 3Oct. 11, 2022NBC4 and Telemundo52 Conan Nolan, Colleen Williams, Dunia ElvirVideo

Endorsements Endorsements in bold were made after the primary election.

Polling Graphical summary

Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin KarenBass RickCaruso UndecidedUC Berkeley IGSUC Berkeley IGS October 25–31, 2022 1,131 (LV)± 4%45%41%13%J. Wallin Opinion ResearchJ. Wallin Opinion Research October 15–17, 2022 400 (LV)± 4.9%37%40%24%UC Berkeley IGSUC Berkeley IGS September 22–26, 2022 1,349 (LV)± 4.0%46%31%23% 1,688 (RV)± 3.5%34%31%31%Probolsky ResearchProbolsky ResearchSeptember 19–25, 2022500 (LV)± 4.5%48%42%10%Global Strategy GroupGlobal Strategy GroupAugust 2022– (LV)–43%37%20%FM3 Research (D)FM3 Research (D)August 2022– (LV)–49%38%13%UC Berkeley IGSUC Berkeley IGSAugust 9–15, 20221,746 (RV)± 2.5%43%31%24%1,212 (LV)± 3.0%53%32%14%UC Berkeley IGSUC Berkeley IGSMay 24–31, 20221,204 (RV)± 2.9%37%33%30%816 (LV)± 3.5%49%35%16%FM3 Research (D)May 13–17, 2022798 (LV)± 3.1%48%39%13%

Results

2022 Los Angeles mayoral election

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