LOS ANGELES — Rick Caruso and Karen Bass both asserted their optimism Wednesday about an eventual victory in the Los Angeles mayor’s race, with both saying they would not let the slowly unfolding tabulation get in the way of their plans for a quick transition into the city’s top job.
The lead in the contest changed hands several times after polls closed Tuesday, with Caruso narrowly ahead by Wednesday morning, the last update from election officials. But analysts said the race remained far too close to call, with as many as half the ballots remaining to be tabulated.
The extended count left Los Angeles in a state of suspended animation, with some political activists saying they were too nervous to think about the outcome and others trolling for any scrap of new data.
