JOB VACANCY ROORA PETSHOP GAJI MENARIk

 She was the only mayoral candidate Obama backed this cycle, capping a string of major endorsements and appearances from national political figures including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Vice President Harris and President Biden.

Most political experts agree that no single endorsement holds much power. But together these nods from party bigwigs — who are popular in the city — highlighted the partisan divide between two people who called themselves Democrats and blunted Caruso’s ascent in the last weeks of the race. They also spoke to registered Democrats — liberals who were Bass’ base of supportIn a city as thoroughly blue as Los Angeles, Caruso’s defeat in some ways can be traced back to a single question: Were Angelenos willing to vote for someone who had been a Republican 

Through her decades working in and  Bass was able to assemble a coalition that reiterated the starkness of this difference between the candidates. That calculus for voters was hyper-charged after the Dobbs Supreme Courtduring the spring, according to conversations with more than three dozen people who worked in or around the campaigns.

Even as Caruso continued to insist he supported abortion rights and always had, there was an evident doubt in voters’ minds about his motivations.

“Caruso spent $110 million trying to convince people he was a Democrat,” Bass’ lead advisor Doug Herman said. “There’s no equalizer to that kind of spending.”

In the end, the businessman put more than $100 million of his own money into his campaign, with roughly $58 million spent on advertising, about $16 million put into the field program, at least $3 million going toward consultants and more than $600,000 paid to a single party rental vendor for meetings and appearances.