Billionaire Rick Caruso, recently endorsed by Elon Musk, appeared to be headed to a November runoff in the Los Angeles mayoral race.
Caruso has surged in the latest polls, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.
A Democrat who formerly was a Republican, Caruso and Rep. Karen Bass, a Democrat, likely were headed to a runoff as neither candidate was expected to receive more than 50% of the vote to win Tuesday's election, the Times reported.
Bass had 38% support among likely voters and Caruso had 32%, according to University of California, Berkeley-LA Times poll results.
In April, Bass had 40% and Caruso just 15%.
Sunday’s poll numbers indicated Caruso had won over a growing number of Latino and Black male voters. Bass had maintained a strong lead among Black women.
"Many voters in heavily Democratic Los Angeles are seething over rising crime and homelessness and that could prompt the city to take a turn to the political right for the first time in decades," The Associated Press reported last month.
Caruso and Bass were running to fill the vacancy created after Mayor Eric Garcetti was nominated by President Joe Biden to be the U.S. ambassador to India.
Musk, who has been criticizing President Joe Biden and Democrats, endorsed Caruso on Friday. Last month, the Tesla CEO tweeted that he had "switched from moderate Democrat to moderate Republican, as I think many independent voters have done."
Caruso, who has described himself as a "centrist, pro-jobs, pro-public safety Democrat," has been endorsed by Kim Kardashian, rapper Snoop Dogg and actress/businesswoman Gwyneth Paltrow, Newsweek reported.
Bass has been backed by many top Democrats including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C. The congresswoman also has been supported by director Steven Spielberg and actress Jennifer Garner.
Caruso, who in the past also had registered as an independent, became a Democrat in January, just weeks before announcing his mayoral bid.
The former real estate attorney has spent more than $23 million of his own money to fund his campaign and flood the airwaves with ads.
Bass, who was mentioned as a potential running mate for Biden during his 2020 campaign, would be the first woman to hold the LA mayoral office and the second Black person.
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