Top Challenger In LA Mayor's Race Drops Out After Daughter's Mysterious Death

LOS ANGELES, CA — The mayor's race got a major shakeup this week as one candidate dropped out, a familiar face signaled he may join the fray, and a newcomer threw his hat in the ring. The developments come as incumbent Mayor Karen Bass is facing new criticisms about her response to the Palisades Fire.

On Thursday morning, prominent mayoral candidate and former Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner announced he was dropping out of the race for the city's top office. Beutner's decision came after his 22-year-old daughter died unexpectedly last month.

"I have made the difficult decision not to run for mayor of Los Angeles," Beutner said in a statement Thursday. "My family has experienced the unimaginable loss of our beloved daughter Emily. She was a magical person, the light of our lives. We are still in mourning.

"A successful campaign, and more importantly the job of mayor, requires someone who is committed 24/7 to the job," Beutner said. "Family has always come first for me. That is where I need to be at this time."

Emily Beutner was found by the side of a highway in Palmdale the night she died. A passerby alerted police to a woman in a "state of medical distress." She was treated at the scene and transported to a local hospital, where she later died, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Her cause of death has not been determined and the investigation is ongoing.

Austin Beutner had been considered a top challenger to Bass in the primary election set for June. The general election is in November.

Caruso Considers A Rematch

Billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso was expected to seek a rematch against Bass after losing to her in the 2022 election.

Last month he announced he would not run for mayor — or governor, for that matter — despite expressing that he was "deeply disappointed to step back from an election I believe is so critical to California's future."

But in the wake of a bombshell story this week saying Bass directed the watering-down of an after-action report on the Palisades Fire, Caruso said he may reconsider his decision.

• Read more: Bass Directed Watering Down Of Report On Palisades Fire: Report

"I need to spend some time thinking about this," Caruso told KNX. "It's very fresh news. I've gotten a lot of calls today, as you can imagine, and there's been a lot of posts on X and other places asking me to jump back in. I'm honored by that, but let's give me some time."

Caruso does not have much time to make such a decision — the deadline to file a declaration of intention for the June primary election is noon Saturday.

Former Tech Executive Enters The Race

Adam Miller, a former tech executive and co-founder of a homeless nonprofit, on Thursday announced he is running for mayor.

Miller enters the race as an "outsider to elective office" after spending two decades building organizations across business, technology and the nonprofit sector, according to his campaign team.

He founded and led Cornerstone On Demand, a workforce education company he took public as CEO. The company was sold in 2021 for $5.2 billion to a private equity firm.

Douglas Herman, a spokesman for Bass' campaign, in a statement described Miller as someone who made a "fortune peddling software to eliminate jobs."

Miller is one of two dozen people who have filed their intention to run for mayor as of earlier this week, the Beverly Press reported.

Other prominent candidates include pastor and housing advocate Rae Chen Huang and reality star Spencer Pratt, a Pacific Palisades resident who has positioned himself as a sharp Bass critic following the deadly January 2025 fire.

City News Service contributed to this report.