Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass kicked off her re-election campaign on Monday, saying she is seeking a second four-year term while continuing to “deliver the change Angelenos deserve.”
In a fundraising email to supporters, Bass said his administration, which is less than 19 months old, has made great strides on homelessness, public safety, municipal service delivery and other issues.
“I am running for a second term because we cannot afford to stop our momentum,” said Bass, who took office in December 2022.
Bass filed paperwork Monday to form a fundraising committee for the June 2026 mayoral election. If he fails to secure 50% of the vote in the primary, he will face an opponent in a November runoff.
The mayor made his donation proposal three days after officials reported that the number of “unsheltered” homeless people — those living in tents, vehicles and makeshift structures — dropped by 10.4 percent citywide compared with the previous year. Many were moved into hotels, motels and other forms of temporary housing as part of the mayor’s Inside Safe initiative.
“Together, united, we reduced the number of homeless people on the streets for the first time in years; last year we managed to bring thousands more people into their homes than the year before,” he said in his email.
Overall, the number of homeless people decreased by 2.2%, within the margin of error of this year's homeless count, which was conducted in January.
In his email, Bass also touted his work on Executive Directive 1, which is expediting the approval of affordable housing as well as a reduction in homicides and his efforts to work collaboratively with city, state and federal agencies.
The fundraising period for the 2026 primary election began June 2 for the citywide offices of mayor, city attorney and city controller. City Council candidates in the 2026 election cannot begin raising money for their campaigns until December.
In the last election, Bass was vastly outnumbered by her opponent, billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso, who contributed more than $108 million, most of it his own money. That amount was more than 10 times what Bass's campaign spent, according to figures released by the city's Ethics Commission.
A representative for Caruso declined to comment when contacted by The Times about the 2026 election. Last fall, Caruso told Politico that he would not rule out running for public office again.
