Photo illustration of Rick Caruso (Illustration by Kevin Rebong for The Real Deal with Getty)
With weeks to go in L.A.’s mayoral race, Rick Caruso is reaching further into his very deep pockets.
The billionaire developer, who shot to a top position in the primary with the help of record spending but has recently been lagging his rival Karen Bass in the polls, gave $5 million to his campaign on Friday, according to a filing with the city ethics commission.
This campaign contribution came less than a month after Caruso had forked over $3.5 million to his campaign in anticipation of the contest’s charged final stretch. The $5 million addition also came just a day after Caruso’s campaign bought $17 million worth of broadcast television ads — the latest sign that Caruso, who blanketed Greater L.A.’s television and social media with ads during the primary, intends a similar ad blitz for the general campaign.
While the initial ad blitz certainly helped to distinguish Caruso, a well known entity and former Republican who was also a political neophyte, from a crowded primary field, it’s less clear that another ad blitz, when most voters already have their minds made up, will be able to bridge Caruso’s sizeable popularity gap.
Last month, a widely cited poll UC Berkeley gave Bass a 12 point lead; while both candidates have secured numerous high-profile endorsements, Bass, a former community organizer and veteran Democratic politician, also has the virtually unanimous backing of the Democratic establishment, support that’s considered particularly important in left-leaning L.A.
To date Caruso, who is almost entirely self funding his campaign, has spent more than $48 million, shattering all records for spending in an L.A. political race.
Read more
Politics
Los Angeles
Caruso, Bass exchange jabs in final stretch of L.A. mayoral race
Commercial
Los Angeles
Caruso flap with Hackman centers on street at The Grove