Karen Bass becomes 1st woman elected mayor of Los Angeles


Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) defeated billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso in the Los Angeles mayor's race, The Associated Press is projecting.
Bass, 69, will be the first woman to serve as mayor of the city and only the second Black person. A former nurse, she was speaker of the California Assembly before moving to Congress, where she was elected to six terms.
With 74.54 percent of the expected vote in, Bass has 53.1 percent of the vote, while Caruso has 46.9 percent.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Caruso, 63, is a former member of the Los Angeles Police Commission, and was known across the city for building upscale shopping centers like The Grove. He spent $100 million of his own fortune on his campaign. He ran as a Democrat, after previously being registered as a Republican or with no party preference.
Bass will be tasked with leading the city through a homelessness crisis as well as a scandal at City Hall, following the October leak of a recording of council members making racist remarks. Prior to the election, Bass said once she takes office, her first move will be to declare a state of emergency on homelessness and get people who need it into housing, the Los Angeles Times reports.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rules
Speed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Act
speed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in Venezuela
Speed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
‘Vile, racist’ leaked chats roil Young Republicans
Speed Read Leaders of Young Republican groups made racist, antisemitic and violent comments in private chats
-
Trump ties $20B Argentina bailout to Milei votes
speed read Trump will boost Argentina’s economy — if the country’s right-wing president wins upcoming elections
-
News organizations reject Pentagon restrictions
Speed Read The proposed policy is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest move to limit press access at the Pentagon
-
Trump declares end to Gaza war, ‘dawn’ of new Mideast
Speed Read Hamas freed the final 20 living Israeli hostages and Israel released thousands of Palestinian detainees
-
Has the Gaza deal saved Netanyahu?
Today's Big Question With elections looming, Israel’s longest serving PM will ‘try to carry out political alchemy, converting the deal into political gold’