High-stakes California races will decide LA mayor and San Francisco recall

Voters in California will have the opportunity to make an impact on police reform, incarceration and the state’s growing homelessness crisis. Photograph: Apu Gomes/Getty Images

High-stakes primary races taking place on Tuesday in California are expected to have major consequences for police reform, incarceration and the state’s growing homelessness crisis.

The most closely watched race is the mayor’s contest in Los Angeles, where voters are deciding between a tough-on-crime real estate developer, Rick Caruso, who has already poured nearly $40m of his own fortune into his primary campaign, and the former community organizer and Democratic congresswoman Karen Bass.