Los Angeles‘s embattled Mayor Karen Bass could breeze to re-election despite facing fury over her handling of devastating wildfires that ravaged the Pacific Palisades neighborhoods and plunged the city into financial crisis.
The first-term Democratic mayor, found her her political future under intense scrutiny following the wildfires, leaving some in the city questioning her leadership.
Bass sparked fury by traveling to Ghana on a diplomatic trip despite warnings of severe winds before the January 7 inferno exploded.
The fire destroyed luxury homes and forced evacuations across the wealthy enclave.
A UC Berkeley poll showed less than one in five residents rated her response as ‘good or excellent.’ She also faced a recall attempt.
She was called out for floundering when questioned about her absence, faced public criticism from her own fire chief, whom she later ousted, and appeared disconnected from her recovery czar.
But despite the political fury and a recall attempt that’s gaining steam, experts told the LA Times that Bass enjoys one crucial advantage.
No serious challenger has attempted to face her and capitalize on her vulnerability.
‘You’re only actually vulnerable if a viable candidate runs against you,’ Sara Sadhwani, assistant professor of politics at Pomona College told the LA Times. ‘Right now, we don’t see who that viable candidate would be.’
Los Angeles’s embattled Mayor Karen Bass could breeze to re-election despite facing fury over her handling of devastating wildfires that ravaged the Pacific Palisades neighborhoods and plunged the city into financial crisis
The first-term Democratic mayor, who just months ago seemed destined for an easy victory, now finds her political future under intense scrutiny following a series of missteps that left her city questioning her leadership
One possible candidate is billionaire mall mogul Rick Caruso, who spent a staggering $108 million of his personal fortune in his failed 2022 bid against Bass.
The developer has remained more active in fire recovery efforts than the mayor herself.
Caruso, who lost by nearly 10 points last time, has teased potential runs for either mayor or governor but remains noncommittal.
His spokesman insisted he is ‘wholly focused’ on rebuilding work through his nonprofit Steadfast LA, despite recently hiring veteran Democratic consultant Eric Koch – a hint that he may be running.
Bass has attempted to paint Caruso as a Republican in their previous matchup.
Several other names circulating in political circles include Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, and Traci Park – who has become a ‘folk hero’ in her district – as well as leftist City Controller Kenneth Mejia.
LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath has also emerged as a potential candidate after publicly clashing with Bass over homeless funding.
Horvath, who currently lives in neighboring West Hollywood, is reportedly open to relocating to LA proper, though she claims she’s ‘not actively pursuing’ a mayoral run.
But Bass retains major advantages, having already raised nearly $1.4 million for her re-election bid.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League – which spent more than $3 million attacking her in 2022 – now ‘enthusiastically endorses’ her re-election and credited the mayor with driving down crime across the city.
‘The Los Angeles Police Protective League enthusiastically endorses Mayor Karen Bass for re-election, and we look forward to ensuring the residents of our city know that this mayor has an unwavering commitment to keep Angelenos and police officers safe,’ they said in a statement.
The mayor’s political consultant, Doug Herman, insists Bass remains ‘laser-focused on delivering results for the city.’
‘Mayor Bass is continuing to lead with drops in crime, the first decrease in homelessness in years and is currently turning Los Angeles around from the devastating wildfires with one of the fastest recovery and rebuilding efforts in modern California history,’ he said.
The June 2026 primary is still 14 months away.
In February, Bass once again found herself at the center of controversy as she desperately tried to explain her absence during the wildfires that ravaged her city.
‘You do gain time coming back, but I will tell you that it’s not like there are hourly flights from Accra, Ghana, to the United States,’ Bass said.
Despite her remarks, the mayor received harsh backlash when she was pictured at a cocktail party at the US Embassy while wildfires began to destroy the Pacific Palisades.
Bass, who fired Chief Kristin Crowley over her response to the wildfires, previously said that no one informed her of the fire risks and has stood firm that if she had known, she wouldn’t have gone on the trip.
‘We need to look at everything about the preparation and all of that for the fires… I think when we evaluate that, we will find that although there were warnings – that I frankly wasn’t aware of.’
‘I think our preparation wasn’t what it typically is… That level of preparation really didn’t happen. If it had, I wouldn’t even have gone to San Diego, let alone leave the country,’ she said in an interview at the time.
