LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath will not run for mayor of LA, ending weeks of speculation.

Lindsey Horvath will not run for mayor in Los Angeles, becoming the latest political champion to decide against a challenge to incumbent Karen Bass.

Horvath, as the LA County supervisor who represents 2 million people in the Westside and San Fernando Valley, has spent weeks speculating about his political intentions, saying his work in the district is “not over.”

“Over the past few months, you’ve shown me all the reasons you love Los Angeles—and why you should fight for it,” Horvath said Friday in a statement. “Thank you to the many leaders, organizations, and every single Angeleno who urged me to run for Mayor of Los Angeles.”

Horvath’s announcement, released on the eve of the deadline for candidates to file, comes days after former LA schools superintendent Austin Beutner ended his campaign for mayor, citing the death of his 22-year-old daughter. Real estate developer Rick Caruso also withdrew from the race, saying he would not run for a second term on Thursday.

The time to apply for mayoral candidates in the June 2 primary closes at noon on Saturday.

Bass campaign spokesman Douglas Herman had no comment.

Horvath, 43, has been one of the mayor’s most vocal critics this past year, bashing his record on homelessness and last year’s Palisades fire, which destroyed thousands of homes and left 12 people dead. On social media, Horvath fended off speculation about his political future while calling the city’s homelessness record “indefensible.”

Bass, meanwhile, has criticized county officials for siphoning hundreds of millions of dollars from the city center on homelessness — an initiative spearheaded by Horvath — and the new county center. Recently, the mayor spoke out against the district’s plan to cut $200 million for homeless services.

Bass, 72, still faces many other opponents from all political stripes.

Reality TV star Spencer Pratt, a Republican, received praise from many Trump supporters, including Sheriff County Sheriff Chad Bianco and Sen. Rick Scott, from Florida. Pratt is focused on the city’s handling of the fire, which destroyed his home.

Democratic socialist Rae Huang is running for mayor from his political left. Huang called for an increase in public housing and a reduction in the number of police officers, with the cost savings being poured into other city services.

Brentwood tech entrepreneur Adam Miller, a self-described lifelong Democrat, said the city is in trouble and needs tougher management. The 56-year-old nonprofit executive plans to use his fortune to launch his campaign.

Also in the race is Asaad Alnajjar, a Bureau of Street Lighting employee who sits on the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council. Alnajjar, who has already loaned his campaign $80,000, said he would do a better job than Bass in running the city.

“I’m a leader. He’s a manager. That’s the difference,” Alnajjar, 61, said.

With so many people running for office, Bass and his political team don’t expect him to clear 50% to avoid a repeat of November.

Bass has been working on his record, touting a sharp drop in homicides and fewer homeless people on the streets since he took office in 2022. He talked about his efforts to speed up the approval of affordable housing and redevelopment permits for Pacific Palisades projects.

The mayor has positioned himself as a check on Trump’s agenda. During last summer’s immigration raids in Los Angeles, he repeatedly called on the president to end the operation and withdraw the California National Guard from the city.

From the start, a mayoral run would have been a risky move for Horvath, who is expected to face any major challenges in his re-election campaign.

Horvath would have to give up his seat to run against Bass, while facing a tight fundraising schedule. His campaign had already planned a re-election fundraiser for next week – after the deadline for mayoral candidates to file.

In political circles, Horvath is considered a strong contender in 2028 for county commissioner, an elected office created by a polling measure that Horvath is running for.

Last week’s like-it-or-not events raised Horvath’s political profile, as he aired his criticism of the mayor on CNN and other news shows.

Relations between Bass and Horvath have been frosty at least since the Palisades fire. The two were at loggerheads over press conferences held to inform the public about the disaster and efforts to open the burnt area for traffic.

Relations soured after Horvath and his colleagues voted to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, a city partnership, and a new regional homelessness agency.

Horvath, on social media, accused Bass of putting out “false information” about the district’s new facility. Bass, meanwhile, warned that the district’s actions could cause the city to backslide in the fight against homelessness.

Horvath has been in elected office on and off since 2009, when he joined the West Hollywood City Council. He left the council in 2011, rejoined in 2015, and stayed for about seven years.

In 2022, Horvath won his governor’s seat, defeating former Speaker of the House Bob Hertzberg, a political veteran.

Had he entered the race, Horvath would have faced questions about a number of issues plaguing the district, including a $4-billion sexual-harassment lawsuit that was later marred by fraud allegations.

He was also a major lobbyist behind Measure G, a 2024 ballot measure that would expand the number of county commissioners and create a CEO position but is also on the verge of accidentally repealing the criminal justice reform measure passed by voters after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.