With the November 3 LA mayoral election approaching, the race is already drawing intense attention as more than 20 candidates have entered the contest, including incumbent Karen Bass.
Candidates range from TV personalities to lawyers and education administrators, reflecting a wide cross-section of backgrounds. Two Korean American candidates are also in the race.
According to the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, which operates the 2026 election tracking board, a total of 22 candidates are currently registered for the LA mayoral race.
The field includes Korean American candidates Suzy Kim and Andrew Kim. Andrew Kim, a practicing attorney, is making a second bid after losing in the 2022 election.
In a phone interview with this newspaper on January 8th, Kim said the Korean American community has suffered under Mayor Bass’s administration due to what he described as compounded problems including crime, homelessness, and economic decline. He claimed the city as a whole has been on a downward trajectory throughout her term. He added that he decided to run to help the Korean American community grow into one with leadership and influence in LA, rather than remaining on the margins.
The candidate drawing the most attention for name recognition is TV star Spencer Pratt. Pratt officially announced his mayoral run on January 7th at a rally marking the first anniversary of the Pacific Palisades wildfire. He rose to fame on the MTV reality series The Hills and has since expanded his profile through broadcasting and social media.
Pratt cited structural failures in the city’s wildfire preparedness, response, and recovery efforts as his reason for entering the race. He said LA’s administrative system is fundamentally broken and designed to protect those in power rather than residents affected by disasters. He added that he no longer wanted to wait for someone else to take meaningful action, which is why he decided to run for mayor.
Another prominent challenger is Austin Beutner, who served as superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) from 2018 to 2021. Beutner announced his candidacy early, in October last year, and has directly criticized Mayor Bass.
Regarding LA’s wildfire response, Beutner recently said that while Mayor Bass claims responsibility, she has not actually acknowledged any accountability. He argued that instead of admitting mistakes and driving change, the administration allowed a cover-up to occur. He described the city’s handling of the Pacific Palisades wildfire as a leadership failure, criticizing both pre-disaster preparedness and post-disaster accountability.
Housing rights activist and pastor Rae Huang, who is Taiwanese American, has also entered the mayoral race. Huang serves as deputy director of the housing advocacy group Housing Now California. He is widely seen as taking a more progressive stance than Mayor Bass, with core campaign pledges that include easing housing costs, making public transportation free, and promoting dignified working conditions.
Meanwhile, figures who lost to Mayor Bass in 2022, including real estate developer Rick Caruso and Lindsey Horvath, a Los Angeles County Supervisor, are still weighing possible comeback bids. In Caruso’s case, there is also speculation that he could pivot away from the LA mayoral race and instead run for California governor.
BY KYEONGJUN KIM [kim.kyeongjun1@koreadaily.com]
