Kamala endorses Karen Bass against Spencer Pratt for LA mayor as incumbent has less than 50% support in polls

Former Vice President Kamala Harris has endorsed Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in her reelection campaign, offering support as Bass faces mounting pressure.

In a statement announcing her endorsement, Harris said Bass is the “leader Los Angeles needs right now,” touting her supposed efforts to reduce homelessness and crime in the city.

"Mayor Karen Bass is the leader Los Angeles needs right now. She has done what so many said couldn’t be done — the first-ever two-year decline in homelessness, reducing crime to levels this city hasn’t seen since the 1960s, and refusing to back down when the federal government came after our neighbors,” Harris said in her statement. “She has my full support for reelection."

In response to the endorsement, Bass said she is "deeply honored to have the support of Vice President Kamala Harris, who has spent her career fighting for the people of Los Angeles and our country."

Current polling shows Bass below the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff election, as a large portion of voters remain undecided. Los Angeles uses a nonpartisan system in which candidates appear on the same ballot, and if no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two finishers advance to a runoff election.

The Harris endorsement could provide a boost for Bass as she faces competition from within her own party. But her most vocal challenger is Spencer Pratt, the Republican reality television personality who has sharply criticized the city’s leadership following the Palisades fire. Pratt’s own home was destroyed in the fire, and he has since highlighted the city’s weak response to providing relief.