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Karen Bass has commanding lead over Rick Caruso in mayoral race, poll finds

Mayor of LA Race: Candidate Rick Caruso makes campaign stop in South Los Angeles
Mayor of LA Race: Candidate Rick Caruso makes campaign stop in South Los Angeles 02:33

A new poll in Los Angeles' mayoral race shows Congresswoman Karen Bass leading developer Rick Caruso.

More than 1,700 registered voters participated in the poll which was conducted by the Los Angeles Times. Of those, 43 percent indicated that they favored Bass. Thirty-one percent indicated that they supported Caruso, while 24 percent noted that they were undecided. 

"Polls show the top issues of this race are homelessness, crime and corruption. I am the only candidate  who has a plan to fix these issues and when voters focus on these issues, the dynamics of this race will change," Caruso said in a statement. "I started this race down 30 points and beat out multiple career politicians to make the runoff and am confident the path to victory is clear."

On Saturday, Bass had hundreds gathered at a rally at Los Angeles City College. While she did not address her lead in the poll, Bass shared the following:

"We're not going to let anybody break our alliance. The city faces a crisis now and time is right for unity. We are not going to allow our communities to be pitted against each other."

Meanwhile, Caruso Sunday held a Town Hall meeting in South Los Angeles. 

Caruso is at the beginning of a long and crazy string of events to gather votes.

"We already have 140 events planned. I've already done 20," Caruso said during the Town Hall meeting Sunday. "That's why I'm here today. I want to hear what you need and then I want to work hard to make it happen."

Caruso isn't exactly concerned about the latest poll numbers that indicated Bass has the edge in the mayoral race.

"I don't think the poll is right based on our polls. I think it's a product of the LA Times," Caruso said.

Since announcing his candidacy for the mayor of Los Angeles race, Caruso has focused his campaign on fixing crime, homelessness and corruption. 

Keisha Daniels, who runs a youth nonprofit organization in Watts called Sisters of Watts, told CBSLA Reporter Jake Reiner she'd like to see Caruso collaborate with organizations like the Sisters of Watts.

"I promise you when I'm mayor, I will see you and I will hear you and we will win together," Caruso said.

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