Billionaire businessman Rick Caruso jumped to an early lead over rival Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) as votes were counted Tuesday evening, leading by 8,000 votes, or roughly 41% to 38%.
The left-wing Bass is the choice of the Democratic Party establishment, and was nearly selected as Joe Biden’s running mate in the 2020 election.
Caruso, a Republican-turned-Independent-turned-Democrat, is running on a promise to fix crime and homelessness, pointing to his successful career as a real estate developer — a tactic that has earned him comparisons, from critics, to Donald Trump.
The race has divided the Hollywood elite, as Breitbart News has reported:
Stars including Jennifer Aniston, Kumail Nanjiani, Amber Tamblyn, and Billy Eichner are urging fans to vote for Bass. Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Katy Perry are stumping for Caruso.
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Jennifer Aniston and Magic Johnson have thrown their support behind Bass, according to a report from Bloomberg News. Meanwhile, Caruso has garnered backing from Kim Kardashian and Gwyneth Paltrow.
If neither of the top two candidates can win an outright majority, they will head to a runoff in November to determine the overall winner.
Update: Caruso led Bass by five points as of Wednesday morning, roughly 42% to 37%.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.