Real Estate-Backed Candidates See Mixed Success in Primary

While final results for the California primary are still up in the air, preliminary numbers show a mixed bag for whether real estate-backed candidates enticed voters.

In the Los Angeles mayoral race, incumbent Karen Bass held the lead, followed by reality TV star Spencer Pratt, as of Saturday. Bass and Pratt both had industry money poured into their campaigns and were in position to make the November election with nearly 35 percent and 27 percent of the vote, respectively.

Bass counts The Wonderful Company’s Lynda and Stewart Resnick, Rexford’s Richard Ziman, luxury home developer Ardie Tavangarian, California Apartment Association’s Political Action Committee, Central City Association PAC, and agents from Coldwell Banker Realty as campaign contributors.

Meanwhile, Pratt reeled in funds from Compass agent Tracy Tutor, Newmark retail broker Jay Luchs, Westside Estate Agency co-founder and high-end agent Kurt Rappaport and Beverly Hills Estates’ Jacqueline Chernov.

Mahan flops

For other candidates, however, real estate money didn’t take them very far.

Despite bringing in significant funds from local real estate players — including about $1.6 million from mall magnate Rick Caruso — San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan counted just 4 percent of the vote in the race for California governor. Mahan conceded mere minutes after the polls closed on election day. As of Saturday, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra led the race with 27 percent of the vote, followed by former Fox contributor Steve Hilton with 26 percent of the vote.

Along with Caruso, Mahan saw campaign contributions from Eastdil Secured CEO Michael Van Konynenburg, Douglas Emmett’s Jordan Kaplan, Victor Coleman’s Hudson Pacific Properties, Kilroy Realty’s Angela Aman, star broker Jason Oppenheim and Related California’s Bill Witte.

The industry seemed to connect with Mahan’s messaging surrounding spurring housing development through private sector partnerships and addressing homelessness along with his stance against Measure ULA — Los Angeles city’s so-called mansion tax.

“People who are in the industry understand the economics of home building and the many ways that the public sector often unintentionally drives up the cost of building housing,” Mahan said in a March interview with The Real Deal.

Hackman exec loses city controller bid

Developer Zach Sokoloff lost in the race for Los Angeles city controller, as incumbent Kenneth Mejia grabbed 61 percent of the vote. Although votes are still being counted, LAist called the election on Thursday, and Sokoloff essentially conceded.

“While there are still votes to be counted, it doesn’t appear like we can overcome the deficit we currently face,” he said in a Wednesday Instagram post.

Sokoloff — who has been on leave from his position as senior vice president of asset management at Hackman Capital Partners — had brought in close to $100,000 during his campaign from those tied to the real estate industry, as of early May. Donors included Ben Ashkenazy, CEO of Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., multiple individuals from Hackman Capital, including Michael Hackman, and Gary Weiss of LA Realty Partners, as well as brokers from Compass and Sotheby’s.

The reason for his run had to do with his grievances with the city’s “broken budget” and lack of transparency in auditing, he previously told TRD. The developer said he wanted heightened oversight regarding revenue from Measure ULA and Prop HHH allocations, along with a more critical lens on expensive affordable and permanent supportive housing developments.

SF politician leads for Insurance Commissioner

The race for state insurance commissioner tells a similar story, as real estate’s favored candidate failed to get off the ground. This year’s race felt more consequential for a role that typically is overlooked, as it carries implications for dismantling the statewide insurance crisis in the wake of the 2025 wildfires in L.A.

Former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim has secured a spot in the November runoff, with nearly 26 percent of the vote, as of Saturday. The second spot in the race has yet to be called but it’s between state Sen. Ben Allen (with 19.6 percent), who represents Pacific Palisades, and insurance broker Stacy Korsgaden (with 16.4 percent) for the chance to go head-to-head against Kim in the November general election.

Of the frontrunners, Kim received the most real estate money, pulling in close to $30,000 in contributions from industry players. Donors included Wayne Jordan of Oakland-based Jordan Real Estate Investments, Lawrence Lui of Cresleigh Management and an associate from nonprofit developer EAH Housing.

Meanwhile, Allen and Korsgaden raised about $12,000 and $7,400 from the industry, respectively.

Political outsider and financial analyst Patrick Wolff blew Kim, Allen and Korsgaden out of the water when it came to attracting real estate donors but didn’t reel in the votes to back it up, tallying about 7 percent, as of Saturday. His nearly $43,000 raised from the sector included contributions from brokers at Sotheby’s, the Beverly Hills Estates and CBRE, Ardie Tavangarian of Arya Group, Shana Tavangarian, an agent at Carolwood Estates, and Thomas Safran of Thomas Safran & Associates.