A Possibly Amazing 2026 Los Angeles Mayoral Election Is One Year Away

If you are a registered voter in the city of Los Angeles, then exactly one year from today, you will get to choose who serves as mayor. Yes, Election Day lands on June 2, 2026 (mail-in ballots will hit homes several weeks before that). So start mentally preparing for the avalanche of TV ads and glossy mailers from a bevy of contests.

The ballot will be jammed with juicy races, but for Angelenos, none will be more consequential than determining whether Karen Bass gets four more years. At this moment, however, that election is like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, in that we have no idea what we’re going to get.

Will L.A. see a spicy battle that serves as a referendum on Bass, with high-profile individuals—starting with businessman Rick Caruso—ceaselessly bashing the mayor? Will there be a nutty contender who never scares anyone, but makes the race fun? Or will this be like the bland, second-term snooze-fests that Eric Garcetti and Antonio Villaraigosa enjoyed, with an incumbent facing only token opposition?

Here are seven things to keep in mind as we hit the one-year-and-counting mark.



https://www.westsidecurrent.com/news/column-a-possibly-amazing-2026-los-angeles-mayoral-election-is-one-year-away/article_e651c84e-5d39-40d3-8486-887606a53a2c.html