LA Mayor Race: Karen Bass widens lead over Rick Caruso in recent poll
LOS ANGELES - Rep. Karen Bass has widened her lead over billionaire developer Rick Caruso in the Los Angeles mayoral race, according to the latest poll results.
The poll, released Friday and conducted by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental for the Los Angeles Times from Aug. 9 to 15 of 1,746 registered voters in Los Angeles, found that 43% of voters favored Bass compared to 31% of voters for Caruso.
The 12-point margin is an increase over the 7 percentage points that Bass beat Caruso by during the June primary.
Nearly half of those surveyed had a favorable opinion of Bass, compared to 22% unfavorable, while 29% had no opinion. That result also fared better than Caruso. Just 35% of respondents found him favorable, while 40% found him unfavorable and 24% had no opinion.
Three-quarters of respondents said it was important for the next mayor to have experience in public office, which favors Bass, who has served in Congress since 2011 and for six years in the California State Assembly, the last two as speaker.
Caruso is a Los Angeles real estate developer who has built several area shopping centers including The Grove, The Americana and Palisades Village.
RELATED:
- President Biden, VP Harris endorse Karen Bass in LA mayoral race
- Elon Musk endorses billionaire Rick Caruso for Mayor of Los Angeles
Meanwhile, 77% of respondents wanted the next mayor to be tough on crime, which has been a staple of Caruso's campaign.
The new poll appears to be consistent with a poll released last week by the pro-Bass group Communities United for Karen Bass, which found an 11- point lead for Bass over Caruso. In that poll, conducted between July 28 and Aug. 7 of 1,062 registered voters, respondents favored Caruso on issues concerning crime and homelessness.