Cringeworthy moment Xavier Becerra refuses to endorse LA mayor Karen Bass as she stands right next to him

California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra appeared reluctant to endorse Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, despite standing right beside her, when a local reporter repeatedly pressed him on why Angelenos should vote to reelect her.In a clip aired by NBC4, Becerra was asked why voters should support Bass, who today is facing a tight reelection battle against City Councilwoman Nithya Raman.To that, Becerra simply encouraged people to head to the polls.“Well I hope people just go out and vote, that’s the most important thing,” Becerra said.The reporter then pressed him again, pointing out that Bass was standing alongside him rather than Raman.“But again the mayor is standing with you, the mayor is standing with you right now, why should Angelenos vote for the mayor? She’s standing with you, not Nithya Raman, this is a unified force,” the reporter said.Becerra again stopped short of explicitly endorsing Bass, instead pointing to their longtime friendship.“Well, Karen Bass and I go way way back.We have known each other for a long long time and we served together in Congress,” Becerra said.“You know politics is one thing, friendships are another thing and I hope folks recognize that you can have friendships that far exceed whatever goes on in politics.”The awkward exchange comes as Bass and Raman are locked in a close contest today for Los Angeles mayor.An Oct.

28 Berkeley IGS/Los Angeles Times poll found the two candidates tied at 40% support each, with 19% of likely voters undecided.The results marked a significant turnaround for Bass after a September poll showed Raman leading by 11 percentage points.Bass has campaigned on continuing her administration’s efforts to address homelessness, expand affordable housing and improve public safety, pointing to her Inside Safe initiative, which moves people out of homeless encampments and into temporary housing.Raman, meanwhile, has promised a more aggressive approach to the city’s homelessness crisis...