Visit the Rick Caruso Campaign Website
Tech billionaire Elon Musk announced he is endorsing Los Angeles mayoral challenger Rick Caruso in a rare backing of a political candidate.
“Los Angeles is fortunate to have someone like Rick Caruso running for mayor. He’s awesome,” he wrote on Twitter Friday.
It is rare for me to endorse political candidates.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 3, 2022
My political leanings are moderate, so neither fully Republican nor Democrat, which I am confident is the case for most Americans.
Executive competence is super underrated in politics – we should care about that a lot more!
Musk noted that it is “rare” for him to “endorse political candidates,” according to another Twitter post. “My political leanings are moderate, so neither fully Republican nor Democrat, which I am confident is the case for most Americans. Executive competence is super underrated in politics—we should care about that a lot more!”
Caruso, a billionaire who recently changed his party affiliation to Democrat and sits on the board of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, is running against Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.). Caruso was a Republican until 2019 when he became an independent. Current Mayor Eric Garcetti, also a Democrat, faces term limits and won’t be on the ballot.
Twelve names are on the ballot for the primary election that ends June 7, though several candidates have dropped out and the race is shaping up as a fight between Caruso and Bass, who was on then-President-elect Joe Biden’s shortlist for vice president. If no candidate clears 50 percent—which is likely with a crowded ballot—the top two finishers advance to a November runoff.
“Part of this is going to be how people feel about them as they get to know them better. We don’t know the answer to that,” said veteran Democratic consultant Bill Carrick, who thinks voters are looking for solutions for homelessness and crime, not obsessing with past political affiliations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
