LOS ANGELES — U.S. Rep. Karen Bass overtook businessman Rick Caruso in the seesaw battle to be mayor of Los Angeles, with Friday’s vote tally showing the veteran lawmaker 4,384 votes ahead of the real estate developer in a contest that will not be settled until next week at the earliest.
The new totals from county election officials put Bass ahead, with a margin of 50.38% to 49.62%, for the first time since Caruso took a slim advantage in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Bass has now bested Caruso in the last two updates from the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office.
Going into Friday, Caruso held a tiny lead of one-half percentage point, or 2,695 votes. The seesawing results of the vote count tended to affirm pre-election predictions that a winner might not be known for a week or more after last Tuesday’s Election Day.
The two would-be mayors have presented a study in contrasts in the days since voting concluded Tuesday: Bass hunkering down with her family and staff members and Caruso spending at least some of his day presenting himself to Angelenos as a kind of mayor-in-waiting.
On Thursday, the 63-year-old mall developer folded into a pastrami sandwich at Langer’s deli west of downtown. On Friday, he dropped in on a Veteran’s Day parade, greeting the crowd with his golden retriever Hudson and sharing a brief greeting with Mayor Eric Garcetti, who was riding in the parade and has one month left in office.
Bass hasn’t been seen by the media since her election night speech on Tuesday and has been relatively silent compared to her opponent. The veteran House member “has been catching up on her personal life and spending time with family,” said spokesperson Sarah Leonard Sheahan. “Today she held a luncheon for her staff to express her appreciation.”
Sheahan declined to comment on Friday’s results. When Caruso’s margin shrank Thursday, Sheahan said in an emailed statement the campaign was confident Bass would win.
On Friday, hours before the latest tally was released, Caruso stood on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, waving to veterans taking part in parade in the northeast San Fernando Valley and posing for photos with fans who approached the mayoral candidate. The man's taste for gripping and grinning was evident as he and Hudson watched a string of vintage cars, trucks and LAPD cruisers roll past.
“This is exactly what we were expecting,” Caruso said. “We’re gonna go up and down as these ballots get counted. ... We’re going to be on a roller coaster for a while. But I’m very optimistic.”
Caruso’s interview with reporters was interrupted when Garcetti, wearing his Navy reserve uniform and sitting atop the back of a convertible that rolled down Laurel Canyon, passed by.
“Look who it is!” Caruso said, walking over to shake the mayor’s hand.
Caruso approached the mayor as he road on the back of rare vintage car (1952 Chrysler Imperial Phaeton) that is the property of the city of L.A. The two had earlier exchanged texts and, after shaking hands on the parade route, agreed to soon connect on the phone. Garcetti said he has also been in regular touch with Bass.
