A poll released Monday by a California public opinion research firm shows U.S. Representative Karen Bass leading the pack in the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election—assuming she chooses to run.
The poll found that 27 percent of a sample of L.A. Democrats would support a hypothetical Bass candidacy if the election were held today.
Other candidates included in the poll include former City Attorney Mike Feuer, City Council President Nury Martinez, businessman Rick Caruso, L.A. Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner, and councilmembers Kevin de Leon and Joe Buscaino. Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas was also included in the poll, despite his announcement last Sunday that he would not run for mayor.
In the wake of Ridley-Thomas’s announcement, city political commentators theorized the door was thrown wide open for a Bass candidacy. Ridley-Thomas himself described the congresswoman as a “very compelling candidate” to succeed outgoing Mayor Eric Garcetti, who has been appointed to the U.S. ambassadorship to India.
“A plurality is undecided, and the race is wide open, but Bass is the only potential candidate for mayor who can claim a real base of support,” a summary produced by the polling firm Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates read.
Bass represents California’s 37th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, encompassing L.A. neighborhoods southwest of Downtown L.A., as well as Culver City and Inglewood.
Pollsters determined that the congresswoman’s advantage over the field comes partly from progressives and liberals—34 percent of progressives and 25 percent of liberals responded that they would vote for her if the election was held today. She also had the advantage of having the most name recognition, and leads with Black Angelenos and people on the densely populated Westside and in South L.A.
Rep. Bass has not yet announced whether she will enter the 2022 mayoral race. Her office could not be immediately reached for comment.