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Chris Pratt backs billionaire Rick Caruso for mayor of Los Angeles ahead of tomorrow’s highly anticipated midterm elections.
The 43-year-old actor lamented the “gradual decline of the city into pain and utter disarray” as he urged voters to support the recently defected Democrat real estate developer.
Caruso has previously identified as a Republican and an Independent before staunchly switching to Democrats shortly before starting the race in February in the famed liberal city.
He will face Joe Biden-backed progressive Karen Bass in the second round after she led the businessman by seven points on the vote in June but failed to secure a 50 percent majority.
Pratt, whose father-in-law is former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, said on his Instagram Stories on Sunday: “I’ve lived in LA for over 20 years. I liked it. In that time I have seen what many residents here have seen, the gradual decline of the city into pain and utter disarray.
Chris Pratt backs billionaire Rick Caruso for mayor of Los Angeles ahead of tomorrow’s highly anticipated midterm elections (pictured with wife Katherine Schwarzenegger)
The actor, 43, urged voters to support the recently defected Democrat real estate developer (pictured Saturday)
The Guardians of the Galaxy star made a passionate plea on his Instagram Stories to support the candidate
“If you live here, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
‘Normally I don’t support political candidates. But in this election there is too much to lose.
“If you are an LA voter, I urge you to vote for @rickcarusola. He is a builder. He knows how to get shit done. He is the man for our city. Rick Caruso for the mayor of LA.”
Pratt has rarely stepped into the political arena and said in 2017 that he wanted to help heal the divisions in the country by being impartial.
He told People: ‘I really feel there is a common ground that is missing because we focus on the things that separate us.
‘You are either the red state or the blue state, left or right. Not everything is political.
Caruso takes on Joe Biden-backed progressive Karen Bass who would become the city’s first black female mayor
Pratt, whose father-in-law is former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, rarely gets involved in politics
“And maybe that’s something I’d like to help bridge the gap, because I don’t feel represented by either side.”
Despite donating to Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign, Pratt’s apparent lack of political involvement caused him to be heavily criticized by fans in 2020.
A viral meme asked who is “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 of his association with 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 tight and every vote counts. If you want Los Angeles to be different than it is now, the choice at @RickCarusoLA is obvious. Change is crucial for the future of the city. It’s up to us – let’s go.’
Bass is backed by the Democrat establishment and backed by Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders
Caruso has star supporters including Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg, Elon Musk and Gwyneth Paltrow
The billionaire businessman has a slew of other celebrity supporters, including Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg, Elon Musk and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Meanwhile, his dream opponent Bass is supported by Barack Obama, Steven Spielberg, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Danny Trejo.
Caruso spins on a platform to clean up the streets, tackle homelessness, and lure big business and Hollywood back to Tinseltown.
He has tapped his estimated $5.3 billion net worth to build a massive war chest, most of his own money, which easily overshadows the fundraising efforts by all candidates in the previous three mayoral races.
The centrist Caruso, the son of Italian immigrants, is testing whether the famously liberal city could turn to the political right for the first time in decades.
He promises to expand the police force and get homeless camps off the streets quickly.
According to the latest polls, she is voting 45 percent against Caruso’s 41 percent, within the margin of error.
The winner replaces outgoing Democratic mayor Eric Garcetti, who was absent from the contest for two terms.
His nomination as US ambassador to India — made by Biden more than a year ago — appears to have stalled in the Senate over allegations of sexual harassment against a former top adviser to Garcetti.