California Gov. Gavin Newsom endorses Bass days before LA mayoral primary

LOS ANGELES - Gov. Gavin Newsom endorsed Mayor Karen Bass in her bid for reelection Thursday, lauding her for reductions in street homelessness and violent crime in Los Angeles.

Newsom's endorsement comes just days before Angelenos head to the polls in Tuesday's primary election, where Bass is locked in a close race with challengers Nithya Raman and Spencer Pratt.

"The work Karen Bass is doing in Los Angeles is making our entire state stronger, with an 18% decline in homelessness while it grew nationally, historic drops in violent crime, boosting film production in L.A., and protecting our communities against ICE. She has my full support for reelection," Newsom said in a statement shared with The Times.

A poll released Thursday by UC Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by The Times, found Bass has 26% support from likely voters. Raman, a city council member, was at 25% and Pratt was at 22%.

Mark DiCamillo, who runs Berkeley IGS, called Bass' lead "statistically insignificant."

Newsom becomes the most recent high-profile elected official or former elected official to back Bass.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris has endorsed Bass, as have U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif.

In March, Newsom said he broadly supported Bass' bid for reelection, though he stopped short of a formal endorsement then.

Bass and Newsom have sometimes scuffled over state aid for the city, like during last year's budget season when Newsom said he would not use state money to rescue Los Angeles from its billion-dollar shortfall.

But even then, Bass said, she and the governor were "in sync."

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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 10:41 AM.