A poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by The Times, found that Bass led with 29% Latino voter support; former TV reality star Spencer Pratt followed at 16%, community organizer Rae Huang at 14% and Raman at 9%. Tech entrepreneur Adam Miller received 3% support. <\/p>\n
In April, a UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs poll<\/a> also found Bass with a wide lead. <\/p>\n \u201cI think she has an opportunity to solidify the Latino vote with a strong primary performance,\u201d said Matt Barreto, a professor of political science and Chicana\/o studies at UCLA. \u201cThis is hers for the taking.\u201d<\/p>\n But there\u2019s plenty of room to grow \u2014 for any candidate: Both polls found a large share of Latino voters were undecided, giving the contenders an opening to win them over in the coming weeks. And as the primary\u2019s final stretch nears, the campaigns are kicking into high gear.<\/p>\n Ruben Jr., no last name given, from East Los Angeles, takes a picture of his father, Ruben Sr., during mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt\u2019s community meet and greet out of a house for sale in Sherman Oaks on Saturday.<\/p>\n (Etienne Laurent \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n In general, turnout in L.A. tends to be fairly low in primary elections, especially in Latino communities, Barreto said, so candidates vying for their vote need sustained outreach in Latino neighborhoods. <\/p>\n In the last mayoral election in 2022, voter turnout increased across all demographic groups, but the share of Latino voters stayed the same.<\/a> Some of this has been attributed to Latinos being a younger demographic, immigration status and a lack of voter history in the U.S. That year, Latinos made up 35% of the electorate but less than a quarter of the turnout.<\/p>\n Guerra said there is often an assumption that Latinos will not turn out as much as other groups, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. A successful campaign can break that cycle, he said.<\/p>\n Those efforts could be bolstered by the governor\u2019s race,<\/a> which features prominent Latino candidates, including former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.<\/p>\n \u201cYou might have a historic turnout of Latinos … in L.A. because of the energy in that race,\u201d said Michael Trujillo, a Democratic strategist who is supporting Villaraigosa. \u201cSo the question to the candidates running for mayor is: Who\u2019s best positioned to ride that historic wave?\u201d<\/p>\n A pi\u00f1ata rests against a tree at Avance Democratic Club\u2019s politics and tacos event at Ernest E. Debs Regional Park in Los Angeles on Saturday.<\/p>\n (Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n In March, Bass launched Latinos con Bass in Lincoln Park. The event featured state Sen. Mar\u00eda Elena Durazo, Angelica Salas, president of Californians for Human Immigrant Leadership Action Fund, or CHIRLA Action Fund, and Nilza Serrano, president of Avance Democratic Club.<\/p>\n In meetings with Latino leaders and in her TV campaign ads, Bass has emphasized the stand she took against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids<\/a> launched by the Trump administration in Los Angeles last year. <\/p>\n \u201cShe stood in some of the most difficult, difficult moments here in the city of Los Angeles, when ICE and Border Patrol were in our streets,\u201d Salas said of Bass. Her organization is the political advocacy arm of CHIRLA, which assists families affected by immigration raids. \u201cShe fought so that our families would stay together.\u201d<\/p>\n Serrano said Bass earned Avance\u2019s support this year, following a rocky relationship after the group endorsed Rick Caruso for mayor in 2022. Bass suggested Caruso had bought the endorsement but later apologized.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe had a very candid, very honest conversation about some of the things that the Latino community is missing under her administration, and she didn\u2019t dodge, which was kind of impressive,\u201d Serrano said. \u201cShe said \u2018help me be better.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Bass credits her support from Latinos to years of grassroots collaboration. <\/p>\n \u201cWe organized together in living rooms in the 1980s,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201cWe\u2019ve fought together for our schools, our streets, and our families ever since. … That\u2019s not something you build in a campaign \u2014 it\u2019s earned, day by day.\u201d<\/p>\n She has also won over Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who said she is voting for Bass.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously I\u2019ve been an outspoken critic, and she and I have differed on policies,\u201d Rodriguez said in an interview. But Bass, she said, is the standout for her leadership, such as her involvement in averting a strike<\/a> by L.A. Unified School District employees. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of pragmatism about how can I make sure that I best protect the city.\u201d<\/p>\n Councilmember and mayoral candidate Nithya Raman speaks to a crowd at the \u201cFamilies for Nithya\u201d event in the West Adams community of South Los Angeles on Saturday. <\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Raman says Latinos voters \u201care a central part of our growing coalition.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve organized campaign events to meet the Latino community, we\u2019re participating in prominent cultural events and our volunteers from all backgrounds are knocking on doors across the city,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n Polls show that Pratt, the former reality TV star<\/a> whose home burned in the Palisades fire, is in second place behind Bass for the Latino vote. His campaign didn\u2019t respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n An account called Latinos Por Pratt<\/a> isn\u2019t affiliated with his campaign but supports his run for mayor. <\/p>\n Adrian E. Alvarez, who runs the group\u2019s website, created a song titled \u201cSpencer, Saca La Bassura,\u201d a reference to Pratt\u2019s epithet for the mayor from the Spanish word for trash. Pratt recently posted a five-minute video in which he decried Bass\u2019 past visits to Cuba and claimed that \u201cthe only thing the hispanic community hates more than slimy politicians \u2026 is COMMUNISTS.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur Latino brothers and sisters have seen the evils of communism, and they are done with it,\u201d Pratt says in the video. <\/p>\n Mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, back to the camera, speaks with supporters during an event in Sherman Oaks on Saturday.<\/p>\n (Etienne Laurent \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n Claudia Agraz, a board member of the Los Angeles Hispanic Republican Club, said she plans to vote for Pratt because she feels that under Bass, the city hasn\u2019t provided enough money for the fire and police departments.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we have right now is not working for us, and it would be nice to see a change for better outcomes for the city of Los Angeles,\u201d Agraz said. <\/p>\n Some conservative Latinos are reluctant to support Pratt. David Hernandez, chair of the Hispanic Republican Club, said that he was a fan of Pratt as he rallied for the victims of the Palisades fire, but that the candidate lacks executive experience to run the city.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout having a little bit of knowledge about how the chorizo is made, you can\u2019t be the head chef of the kitchen,\u201d Hernandez said.<\/p>\n Pratt\u2019s support in L.A. will hit a ceiling, UCLA\u2019s Barreto said, noting that the candidate hasn\u2019t taken the same hard line against the ICE raids as other candidates. During the televised mayoral debate this month, Pratt was asked to clarify his position on working with ICE.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they\u2019re legal or illegal, if they\u2019re a danger \u2014 I want them off our streets, that\u2019s what I said,\u201d Pratt said during the May 6 debate.<\/a> \u201cICE won\u2019t be coming here because \u2026 everybody they\u2019re supposedly looking for, they\u2019re going to be in jail when I\u2019m mayor.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Ruben](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778994137_615_.jpeg\")
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