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Kamala’s Battle: Los Angeles

With the Democrats about to lose the House, and maybe the Senate, why is the top of the party so infatuated with the L.A. mayoral race, a contest between two Democrats? The multifold answer explains a lot about how Democrats see themselves, their future, and their image.

kamala harris
Kamala Harris is in Los Angeles on the eve of the midterms. Photo: Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images
Tara Palmeri
&
Peter Hamby
November 8, 2022

While the fate of Congress hangs on a handful of midterm races in a few swing states, Washington is quietly obsessing over a mayoral race in California between two Democrats—Congressional Black Caucus poobah Karen Bass and a real estate developer billionaire, Rick Caruso. Bass has received endorsements from Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and Barack Obama—many have even come out to L.A. to campaign for her. It’s all a little mysterious: Obama, after all, was a friend of current Mayor Eric Garcetti but didn’t endorse him. Now he’s all in for Bass. The only two Democrats who have sat on the sidelines are Gavin Newsom and Garcetti, himself.