Los Angeles elects mayor amid housing discontent, homelessness and crime

By Alex Seitz-

WASHINGTON — Two of America's most famous and progressive cities could take a swing to the right on Tuesday, when California and six other states hold primary elections. 

The sixth round of this year's primary elections will not feature big battles for the Senate or the governorship.

But the primaries will determine who can end up representing millions of Americans in California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota.

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In Los Angeles, long-standing frustrations over problems like homelessness and crime have made a former Republican billionaire the unlikely favorite to be the next mayor of this heavily Democratic megalopolis.

Rick Caruso, a major real estate developer who has recently joined the Democratic Party and received unusual support from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has spent more than $34 million on his campaign, nearly 10 times more than his top dollar. opponent, Democratic congresswoman Karen Bass, who has six terms.

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While the money helps, Caruso has capitalized on growing discontent about the state of the city and the perception that its Democratic leaders haven't been able to do much about it. 

The number of homeless people continues to rise, while housing has become even less affordable.

Crime is up, traffic has worsened and high gas prices are an added insult in a city famous for its long commutes.

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Los Angeles County, which for decades has been a magnet for Americans dreaming of a fresh start, dropped the most people during the first year of the pandemic, according to census data released in March. 

With TV ads promising to “clean up Los Angeles” and be “an enforcer…not just a talker,” Caruso has cast himself as an ideologically unattached independent with the ability and the will to do what the city needs. , even if it angers activists or unions.

His plan to hire 1,500 new police officers, for example, has drawn criticism from other candidates more focused on the Los Angeles police's civil rights issues.

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Karen Bass meets with supporters at Angel's Point in Elysian Park ahead of the primary election, Friday, May 27, 2022, in Los Angeles, Calif. Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag

Bass and his allies, meanwhile, have compared Caruso to another party-swapping billionaire real estate developer -- former President Donald Trump -- and highlighted Caruso's past donations to GOP candidates. such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and to anti-abortion causes.

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"It's a fraud," says the narrator of an ad for a pro-Bass super PAC - an organization that raises funds and allocates them to support a candidate - calling Caruso "a lifelong Republican."

The last few Los Angeles mayoral races have been relatively sleepy affairs with only one in five registered voters bothering to go to the polls.

But analysts think that will be different this year, as Mayor Eric Garcetti leaves office with low approval ratings and polls show a growing number of voters worried about the city's direction. 

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However, the contest is likely to continue into the fall as neither candidate is expected to pass the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff, which is scheduled to coincide with the general election in November.

The story is similar in San Francisco, another famed progressive city that has suffered from the usual urban problems: It has suffered an even larger recent exodus than Los Angeles on a per capita basis.

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Yet crime has become the focal point, as polls suggest voters are ready to fire their reform-minded district attorney in Tuesday's recall election.

Chesa Boudin made national news when he was first elected to be San Francisco's top prosecutor in 2019. Boudin's parents were members of the violent left-wing group the Weather Underground and were incarcerated for much of his childhood, but Boudin went to Yale. and won a Rhodes Scholarship before, years later, joining a wave of reformist district attorney candidates who embraced the Black Lives Matter movement and called for a new approach to policing.

Three years later, however, many San Franciscans have become exasperated by the perception of impunity for petty crimes such as shoplifting, while violent crime has also increased.

Mayor London Breed declared in December a crackdown on the "kingdom of criminals who are destroying our city."

District Attorney for San Francisco, California, Chesa Boudin speaks to reporters before his inauguration ceremony, on January 8, 2020. Jeff Chiu / AP

Under Boudin, the prosecutor's office - once headed by now Vice President Kamala Harris - has seen an exodus of lawyers, with some even joining calls for the removal of their former boss.  

The rest of Tuesday's primaries have drawn less attention. 

In Iowa, Democrats are expected to nominate former Rep. Abby Finkenauer to challenge veteran Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley in November, but while Finkenauer is seen as a strong candidate, the state has trended in the red and Democrats could be lucky if they hold their ground. only seat in Congress. 

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Montana, meanwhile, won a second congressional seat in the latest round of redistricting.

Ryan Zinke, who served as interior secretary under former President Trump, is expected to win the GOP nomination for the Republican-leaning district. 

In New Jersey, Trump called on supporters to impeach Republican Rep. Chris Smith, the state's longest-serving congressman, after he broke party ranks to vote for Biden's infrastructure plan, but Trump stopped short of following through. to endorse any of Smith's Republican rivals.

Smith continues to have the backing of his party's leaders in Congress and is considered the favorite.

Several of the state's congressional districts are expected to be competitive in the fall, with packed Republican fields to recapture seats recently won by Democrats like Reps. Andy Kim and Mikie Sherrill.

In the only open seat in the state, which represents a deeply Democratic area around Jersey City, the entire Democratic establishment has lined up behind Robert

Menendez Jr., the son of Sen. Robert

Menendez, even though he faces two other Democrats.

In New Mexico, Republicans will choose from a large field of candidates to face Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is considered vulnerable in November. 

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And in South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem, a nationally rising star of the GOP, is expected to be re-elected.

Trump had asked her to challenge South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune for not supporting the former president's attempts to nullify the 2020 election, but she opted to run for re-election instead and Thune is also seen as a big deal. Favourite.