By Grace Toohey and Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES - After the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral primary, developer Rick Caruso looked to have a surprising, and sizable, lead over then-U.S. Rep. Karen Bass. The morning after the polls closed, Caruso was ahead by 5 percentage points - 42% to Bass' 37% - and the former Republican called the early results "a victory story."