OAN Staff Jenna Lee
6:03 PM – Thursday, May 28, 2026
California Governor Gavin Newsom has officially endorsed Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in the midst of her highly competitive reelection campaign.
Newsom (D-Calif.) announced his endorsement for the incumbent on Thursday, just days ahead of the June 2nd nonpartisan primary election. The current governor’s support comes as Bass finds herself locked in a tight three-way race with City Councilwoman Nithya Raman and former reality TV star 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,” said Newsom to the Los Angeles Times.
The California governor has a history of backing Bass, with whom he shares longtime fixtures in California Democrat politics and a supportive rapport.
However, Newsom notably remained neutral during the intense 2022 primary between Bass and billionaire Rick Caruso. While he declined to endorse either candidate at the time, political strategists attributed his hands-off approach to managing the state’s multi-billionaire donor base and protecting his own rising national profile.
Newsom previously signaled his support for Bass’s reelection in March, though Thursday’s announcement marks his first formal endorsement of the cycle.
Bass thanked Newsom for his backing in a statement, hoping the high-profile backing will help extend her lead in the polls.
“Governor Newsom has been a partner for Los Angeles at every turn, from delivering state resources that have driven down homelessness two years in a row, to standing shoulder to shoulder with us against Donald Trump’s lawless attacks on our city, to cutting red tape so we can build more faster,” said Bass.
According to her campaign website, Bass has also secured endorsements from several prominent figures, including Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and nine sitting LA council members.
A UC Berkeley/L.A. Times poll released Thursday shows Bass holding a narrow lead among likely voters, though the frontrunners remain tightly clustered. She holds 26% support, followed closely by Raman at 25% and Pratt at 22%.
To win the seat outright during the June 2nd primary election, a candidate must secure more than 50% of the vote. If no one crosses that threshold, a runoff will be triggered, sending the top two finishers to a head-to-head matchup in the November general election.
Critics from both the left and right however, view Newsom’s last-minute endorsement—coming on the heels of a shrinking lead in the polls—as a sign of establishment anxiety.
Opponents argue that if Bass’s first-term record were strong enough on its own merits, she would not require a sudden influx of top-tier state and national figures to avoid a runoff.
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