Because of his distance from elected office, combined with a decent but overshadowed fundraising effort, Villaraigosa lacks a high-profile platform to attract attention in today\u2019s fractured media universe, an essential ingredient he needs to remind voters about his experience and accomplishments as mayor and a state lawmaker. <\/p>\n
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Antonio Villaraigosa gets his photo taken with students from Hazeltine Avenue Elementary School while visiting Placita Olvera in 2013.<\/p>\n
(Irfan Khan \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
Recent polls show Villaraigosa, 73, wallowing at the bottom of the field<\/a>, though none of the major Democratic candidates have an overwhelming edge. <\/p>\n Villaraigosa also ran for governor in 2018, coming in third in the primary election behind Democratic rival Gavin Newsom, who went on to win and is now serving his second term, and little-known Republican businessman John Cox. <\/p>\n Political strategist Mike Madrid, who worked for Villaraigosa on that campaign, said the former mayor\u2019s absence from politics in recent years is a major liability in this race.<\/a> <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a dogged, determined candidate,\u201d Madrid said. \u201cBut there are pretty stiff headwinds.\u201d<\/p>\n Villaraigosa got a boost last week when the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California pledged $1 million to an outside committee supporting him. <\/p>\n His allies argue voters aren\u2019t paying attention to the governor\u2019s race because eyes are on President Trump, immigration raids and the Iran war.<\/p>\n But the new funding is a pittance compared to some of his rivals. Billionaire Tom Steyer is tapping tens of millions of his own money to pump out ads. Tech companies and billionaire Rick Caruso are supporting Matt Mahan, the mayor of San Jos\u00e9, with millions.<\/p>\n Another contender, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin), has the power of incumbency. Swalwell launched his campaign on \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d and is a regular on cable news shows, while former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, who is also running, recently served in Congress and campaigned for the U.S. Senate two years ago.<\/p>\n With the June primary looming, Villaraigosa\u2019s campaign risks sputtering out. <\/p>\n Angeleno Celine Mares holds a copy of Newsweek featuring newly elected Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as he is sworn into office on the steps of City Hall July 1, 2005.<\/p>\n (David McNew \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n Leaving a Compton church earlier this month, he reacted to Mahan\u2019s support from technology companies, and the billionaire money in the race. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have overwhelming sums of money influencing elections, there\u2019s a great deal of concern for those of us who care about our democracy,\u201d said Villaraigosa. \u201cAs much as they say it\u2019s about free speech, it actually drowns out speech.\u201d <\/p>\n (During his 2018 bid for governor, though, Villaraigosa was a major beneficiary of Californians using their wealth to wield political influence. Charter school backers, including Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and philanthropist Eli Broad, spent around $23 million on efforts to boost his campaign<\/a>.<\/a> )<\/p>\n Earlier in the morning, he rallied runners at a 10K road race in L.A.\u2019s Chinatown, lighting firecrackers, posing for photos and looking as energetic as when he was mayor and would dart into the street to personally fill potholes.<\/p>\n Villaraigosa flitted around the racers\u2019 VIP tent, spotted a bowl of fortune cookies and made a beeline. \u201cYou have an active mind and a keen imagination,\u201d he read aloud.<\/p>\n \u201cAntonio V.!\u201d a middle-aged man called out as the former mayor passed. <\/p>\n Minutes later, Villaraigosa swapped his black and white Veja sneakers and jeans for dress shoes and a suit for the church service in Compton, at which an overwhelmingly Black audience gave him a warm reception.<\/p>\n Building a coalition of Black and Latino voters helped him win the 2005 L.A. mayor\u2019s race in a dramatic upset of then-Mayor Jim Hahn, and brought wide attention to the one-time high school dropout, who was raised by a single mother on Los Angeles\u2019 eastside.<\/p>\n Newsweek magazine featured Villaraigosa on its cover with the headline, \u201cLatino Power: L.A.\u2019s New Mayor and How Hispanics will change American Politics.\u201d<\/p>\n But national acclaim can be fleeting. Today, voters aren\u2019t as interested in identity-based politics, said Fernando Guerra, a professor of political science at Loyola Marymount University who has known Villaraigosa for decades.<\/p>\n Guerra said Villaraigosa is struggling to differentiate himself in the race because his pitch to voters is not unlike the moderate path taken by Mahan. Another contender, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, overlaps with Villaraigosa when it comes to biographical details: Both are from the L.A. area, Latino and relatively close in age.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s made it so difficult is that [Villaraigosa said], \u2018Here\u2019s my path,\u2019\u201d said Guerra. \u201cWell, guess what, there are one to two more candidates who are also on that path.\u201d <\/p>\n Strategist Madrid questioned whether voters even want to hear about a candidate\u2019s experience at a time when anti-Trump messages rally Californians. \u201cThey want a fighter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Since leaving the mayor\u2019s office, Villaraigosa has enjoyed success in the lucrative private sector. He purchased a $3.3 million home in the L.A. neighborhood of Beverly Hills Post Office in 2020. . A recent campaign filing shows he\u2019s spent the last few years advising companies including the health company AltaMed, financial lender Change Company and crypto currency exchange Coinbase Global. <\/p>\n Then mayor Antonio Villaraigosa holds a news conference at the Department of Water and Power on Hope Street July 22, 2005, urging all of Los Angeles to conserve energy in an effort to ensure Southern California avoids blackouts.<\/p>\n (Ken Hively \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n He also worked for a few years for consulting firm Actum and briefly advised the Newsom administration on infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that I didn\u2019t like the public sector,\u201d said Villaraigosa, explaining his decision to run again. As he talked about his desire to serve, he cast a gauzy image of the aughts in Los Angeles, taking credit for the downtown resurgence, skyline full of construction cranes and fewer homeless people on the streets during that period. <\/p>\n \u201cMost people look back on those years and say they were some of the best years we\u2019ve had in the last 25 \u2014 at least,\u201d said Villaraigosa.<\/p>\n Stuart Waldman, president of the business group Valley Industry and Commerce Assn., argues Villaraigosa\u2019s experience in the private sector and distance from elected office is a good thing. <\/p>\n \u201cLook at what the economy was like, look at what the city was like\u201d under Villaraigosa, said Waldman. \u201cThat\u2019s what he\u2019s going to be judged on.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Angeleno](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773656347_543_.jpeg\")
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