This isn’t even the first time this has happened in Los Angeles. Mayor Karen Bass was elected four years ago over wealthy developer Rick Caruso, who had campaigned against Democratic misgovernment of the city.Caruso did, however, finish second in the first round of voting and made it to the November election, ultimately winning 45.2% of the vote to Bass’s 54.8% in a two-way race. Despite considerably more hype, Pratt fell short of Caruso on both counts.
Chicago voters ousted embattled Mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2023, making her the first incumbent mayor to be defeated in the city in 40 years. But in the runoff, Chicagoans rejected centrist, law-and-order former CEO of Chicago Public Schools Paul Vallas and instead elected progressive Brandon Johnson. As mayor, Johnson has arguably governed to the left of Lightfoot.
In New York City just last year, voters turned out the scandal-plagued Mayor Eric Adams, who left the Democratic Party and attempted to seek reelection as an independent after polls suggested he had little chance of winning the primary. The city then elected socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who ran to the left of Adams and defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in both the Democratic primary and the general election.
