Chris Pratt has endorsed billionaire Rick Caruso for Los Angeles mayor ahead of tomorrow’s much-anticipated midterm election.
The 43-year-old actor lamented the California city’s “gradual decline in pain and utter confusion” as he urged voters to back the newly breakaway Democrat real estate developer.
Caruso has previously identified as a Republican and an independent before switching allegiances to Democrats just before entering the February race in the famously liberal city.
He is up against Joe Biden-backed progressive Karen Bass in the runoff after she edged the businessman seven points in June’s vote but failed to get a 50 percent majority.
Pratt, whose father-in-law is former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said on his Instagram Stories on Sunday: “I’ve lived in LA for over 20 years. It was great for me. In that time I’ve seen what many of the residents have seen here, the city’s gradual decline in pain and utter confusion.
Chris Pratt has thrown his support behind billionaire Rick Caruso for Los Angeles mayor ahead of tomorrow’s much-anticipated midterm election (pictured with his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger).
The 43-year-old actor urged voters to back the newly defected Democrat real estate developer (pictured Saturday).
The Guardians of the Galaxy star passionately pleaded for backing the candidate on his Instagram Stories
“If you live here, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
“I don’t usually support political candidates. But there is too much to lose in this choice.
“If you are an LA voter, I urge you to vote for @rickcarusola. He’s a builder. He knows how to fuck. He’s the guy for our town. Rick Caruso for the Mayor of LA.’
Rarely stepping into the political arena, Pratt said in 2017 he wanted to help heal the country’s divisions by being impartial.
He told People, “I really feel like there are similarities out there that are being overlooked because we’re focusing on the things that separate us.
“You are either the red state or the blue state, the left or the right. Not everything is politics.
Caruso is up against Joe Biden-backed progressive Karen Bass, who would become the city’s first black woman mayor
Pratt, whose father-in-law is former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, rarely gets involved in politics
“And maybe I want to help bridge that because I don’t feel represented by either side.”
Despite a donation to Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign, Pratt has been heavily criticized by fans for his apparent lack of political involvement in 2020.
A viral meme asked who was “the best Hollywood Chris,” and many claimed Pratt was the worst.
Many speculated that the Jurassic World star was a supporter of Donald Trump because he was linked to a conservative Christian church that has been criticized in the past for being anti-LGBTQ.
But now he has decided to break his political silence and support Caruso, who has so far spent an estimated $100 million on his mayoral campaign.
Pratt’s mother-in-law Maria Shriver also supports the candidate.
She said: “This race is super close and every vote counts. If you want Los Angeles to be different than it is today, @RickCarusoLA gives you the choice. Change is crucial for the future of the city. It’s up to us – let’s go.’
Bass was supported by the Democratic establishment and has the support of Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders
Caruso has celebrity supporters such as Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg, Elon Musk and Gwyneth Paltrow
The billionaire businessman has a host of other celebrity backers including Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg, Elon Musk and Gwyneth Paltrow.
His favorite opponent, Bass, meanwhile, is joined by Barack Obama, Steven Spielberg, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Danny Trejo.
Caruso runs on a platform to clean up the streets, fight homelessness, and lure big business and Hollywood back to Tinseltown.
He has used his estimated $5.3 billion fortune to build a massive war chest, most of it from his own funds, that easily eclipses the fundraising of any candidate in the last three mayoral elections.
Centrist Caruso, the son of Italian immigrants, is testing whether the famously liberal city could swing to the right for the first time in decades.
He promises to expand the police force and quickly get homeless camps off the streets.
Recent polls suggest she’s within error at 45 percent versus Caruso’s 41 percent.
The winner will replace outgoing Democratic Mayor Eric Garcetti, who was largely absent from the contest.
His nomination for US ambassador to India – which Biden made more than a year ago – appears to have stalled in the Senate over sexual harassment allegations against a former top Garcetti adviser.