Incumbent mayor Karen Bass will proceed to the Nov. 3 general election in the Los Angeles mayoral race, the Associated Press projected early Wednesday morning.

Bass emerged as the leader of the crowded field of more than a dozen candidates after a feisty battle the past few months that led to former reality TV star Spencer Pratt and Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman polling neck-and-neck less than a week before primary day.

As of early Wednesday morning, the Associated Press had yet to project a second candidate who would advance to the general election in the all-party primary in which the top two vote-getters move on.

Bass, the 72-year-old incumbent, has a long record in politics: Before being elected LA mayor in 2022, she represented Los Angeles in the California State Assembly, eventually becoming speaker, and served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. She entered the mayor’s race facing extensive criticism from Angelenos for both her handling of last year’s deadly LA wildfires — she was in Ghana when the blazes broke out — and her failure to achieve her goal of ending homelessness by the end of her first term.

Bass has campaigned on her experience, which includes standing up to the Trump administration when the president deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the city last year, and a pledge to deliver on her promise to end homelessness.

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Julianne McShane

Julianne McShane is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW who also covers the politics of abortion and reproductive rights. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at jmcshane.19 or follow her on X or Bluesky.