L.A. Police Union Spends $100K on Ads Against Long-Shot Mayoral Candidate Rae Huang
Why It Matters
With California’s largest city heading toward a June 2 primary, the Los Angeles mayor’s race has entered a period of escalating spending, sharper rhetoric, and increasingly strategic maneuvering. The latest development — a police union pouring money into ads targeting a fifth-place candidate — has raised questions about whether the campaign’s biggest players are trying to shape the runoff field rather than simply defeat their opponents.
What Happened
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which has endorsed incumbent Mayor Karen Bass for reelection, announced it is spending approximately $100,000 on digital advertising targeting mayoral candidate Rae Huang, a Democratic Socialists of America member who has been polling in the single digits.
The ads do not deliver a sharp personal attack. Instead, they highlight Huang’s stated policy positions, including her support for a Green New Deal-style platform, corporate tax increases, and free public transit. League spokesperson Tom Saggau said the union acted because Huang has “reckless plans to dismantle the police department and blow the city budget.”
Political observers, however, have offered a different interpretation. They argue the police union — like Bass ally the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor before it — is attempting to elevate Huang’s name recognition in order to draw left-leaning voters away from Councilmember Nithya Raman, Bass’s most formidable challenger. If that strategy works, supporters of Republican candidate Spencer Pratt could benefit, potentially positioning Pratt as Bass’s general-election opponent in a heavily Democratic city.
Huang, for her part, has responded with dry humor. “I think LAPD’s a little scared of me because they just spent over $100,000 in attack ads against me,” she said in a campaign video. “But they’re making me look good, so… thank you!”
Rob Quan of the advocacy group Unrig LA pushed back on Huang’s framing, writing on social media: “They aren’t trying to stop you — they are trying to boost you.”
By the Numbers
- $100,000: Amount the Police Protective League reported spending on digital ads targeting Huang
- ~2 weeks: Time remaining until the June 2 Los Angeles primary election
- $1 million: Amount the Central City Association announced it plans to spend supporting Mayor Bass
- $4 billion+: Projected cost, including debt payments, that Councilmember Raman attributes to a convention center expansion deal she links to Bass
- 5 candidates: The field competing for the top-two primary spots, with Bass and Raman considered the frontrunners
Zoom Out
The dynamics playing out in Los Angeles reflect a broader pattern seen in high-stakes urban primaries nationwide, where endorsing organizations sometimes deploy spending not to defeat an opponent directly, but to reshape the electorate’s choices. Similar tactical spending — designed to elevate weaker opponents — has appeared in New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco mayoral contests in recent cycles.
The Los Angeles race also reflects growing fissures within the city’s progressive movement. Raman supporters have publicly pressured Huang to exit the race, arguing her continued candidacy fragments the left-of-center vote. Evan Goodrich, a Raman backer from Echo Park, posted bluntly on social media: “Your campaign is broke, you have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning.” Huang has refused to withdraw, countering that Raman herself is not a genuine progressive, describing her as “neoliberal” and “part of the establishment.” She did concede that Raman stands to the left of Bass on most issues.
Separately, Raman escalated her attacks on Bass this week, accusing the mayor of a series of “pay-to-play” arrangements — including a police union contract she says strained city finances and a convention center expansion she characterizes as a donor-driven deal. Raman also called attention to Bass’s support for allowing short-term rentals of second homes on platforms like Airbnb, a practice currently barred under city law. The Central City Association, which backs that policy shift and counts Airbnb among its major funders, announced a $1 million pro-Bass spending effort this week.
Los Angeles has also been navigating separate public safety pressures. A train cart was recently discovered near Long Beach carrying six dead migrants, drawing renewed attention to the challenges facing city and county officials on homelessness and border-related migration issues heading into the election.
What’s Next
Voters head to the polls on June 2. The top two finishers advance to a November 3 runoff. With spending accelerating and strategic ad buys intensifying, the composition of that runoff ballot — not just the eventual winner — has become the central tactical question for every major player in the race.