Housing advocate Rev. Rae Huang’s announcement that she will run for mayor of Los Angeles injected a progressive voice into what had been shaping up as a matchup between Mayor Karen Bass and former LAUSD superintendent Austin Beutner.
Huang, deputy director of Housing Now California and an ordained Presbyterian minister, enters the race on a platform that calls for “housing for all,” fast and free buses, stronger workers protection and a public safety approach focused on prevention and care.
“I am running because I can do the job and because Los Angeles has been ready for real leadership for a long time,” she told supporters as she launched her campaign Sunday.
Her entry presents Bass — a veteran Democratic leader who won in 2022 after a high-profile clash with developer Rick Caruso — with a challenge on her left flank at a time when the incumbent faces scrutiny over the city’s finances, public services and the slow-moving recovery from the destructive Palisades fire.
It also reorders the early structure of the race, creating distinct ideological lanes and raising the possibility that a more crowded field could push the contest into a costly November runoff.
Huang has never run for elected office and is little known outside tenant-rights and progressive circles. But analysts say she could still influence the race, especially at a moment when many Angelenos are frustrated with high housing costs and inconsistent city services.
“Think of Rae Huang less as an L.A. version of Mamdani and more like a local Bernie Sanders,” said Dan Schnur, a political analyst who teaches at USC and UC Berkeley. “It’s hard to see her getting elected mayor, but she has the potential to cause major problems for Bass.”
Huang’s base overlaps with the city’s tenant movement and younger progressives aligned with groups such as the Democratic Socialists of America. DSA-backed candidates now hold four City Council seats — a sharp rise since 2020, when Nithya Raman became the first DSA-endorsed candidate to win a seat at City Hall.
Fernando Guerra, a political science professor at Loyola Marymount University, said Huang “gives individuals who are traditionally leftists an avenue for a vote, when they wouldn’t want to vote for someone more to the right of Mayor Bass.” He added, “ It might take away enough votes to force a runoff for Mayor Bass.”
Bass heads into the race with the advantages of incumbency and name recognition, as well as a record she can point to on homelessness. Political analyst Zev Yaroslavsky said street homelessness has improved since 2021 and 2022, as debate continues over the pace of progress.
Her campaign points to her record. “Under Mayor Bass’ leadership, there has been unprecedented progress on the issues that matter most to Angelenos,” campaign spokesperson Doug Herman told media on Sunday. He cited two consecutive years of declines in homelessness, drops in crime, and what he called the fastest fire recovery in California history. He also noted Bass’s defense of the city during recent immigration enforcement raids.
The campaign emphasized that Executive Directive 1, which fast-tracks approvals for affordable and supportive housing, has accelerated the pace of housing development during Bass’s tenure.
But the Palisades fire — which ignited on Jan. 7 while Bass was in Ghana on a diplomatic trip — continues to shadow her administration. The city’s budget remains strained, with higher-than-expected departmental costs, and softer hotel tax revenues.
Yaroslavsky, a former city council member and county supervisor, said Bass faces pressure from both sides of the political spectrum. Beutner challenges her from “a more pro-business” direction, he said, while Huang presses her from the left. If Caruso joins the race, she would also face a challenge from the center-right.
Yaroslavsky said Bass still enters the race as the favorite, but cautioned against early predictions. “Anybody who is articulate, who’s authentic, who has a vision and has an organization has a chance to get on the electorate’s radar screen,” he said.
Former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner, who announced his candidacy in October, also weighed in Monday.
“This election is about fixing L.A.’s problems to make life better and more affordable for everyone who lives here,” he said in a statement. “My experience feeding people during a crisis, providing free glasses to kids who need them, and putting arts and music back in public schools shows it can be done. I’ll bring the same ‘get it done’ approach to City Hall.”
For Beutner, some analysts say, a more populated field could be an advantage.
“If I’m Austin Beutner, I actually like this,” Guerra said. “ Part of the strategy for him to win is that there needs to be a runoff, and this increases the possibility of a runoff.”
Huang’s announcement renewed questions about whether Caruso — who spent more than $100 million in his 2022 mayoral bid — will run again. The real estate developer has not said whether he will run, though he remains the subject of speculation about both a mayoral bid and a possible future run for governor.
Guerra said that even without Caruso, the presence of credible challengers “allows [Bass] to start fundraising and organizing even before someone like Caruso runs.” Their entry, he said, gives Bass a justification for telling donors she will need resources early.
Caruso’s team did not respond to a request for comment by press deadline Monday.
There is broad agreement among analysts that the political terrain in 2026 will differ from Bass’s last campaign. The fires, renewed ICE activity, and national political climate could influence turnout, Guerra said. He expects younger voters — and residents mobilized by those events, or by anti-Trump sentiment — to make up much of the new electorate. About 80% of voters will likely be the same individuals who cast ballots four years ago, he said, but the issues driving them have shifted.
Homelessness will remain central, and climate change — “the most important issue,” Guerra said — is likely to stay under-addressed. But he expects that crime will play a smaller role than it did four years ago.
Bass, meanwhile, has “got a story to tell,” Yaroslavsky said, pointing to reductions in street homelessness and the city’s early steps on fire recovery. But he said the stakes are high in a race where Bass must now defend her record against a growing field of challengers.
“She’s the one to beat,” he said, but added that Bass is facing serious challengers.
Huang has nearly seven months before the June primary and enters a political environment more receptive to progressive organizing.
Whether Huang gains traction, Yaroslavsky said, will depend on her ability to build a real organization — “nothing succeeds like success,” as he put it — and to convince voters she has a chance. She could take off, he said, or struggle to break through in a city with a far more diverse electorate than places like New York or Seattle.
Still, he cautioned against drawing early conclusions. “I don’t think you can handicap this race at this point,” he said. “It doesn’t happen that often, especially at the mayor’s level, but these are different times now.”