Rick Caruso gives full endorsement to Matt Mahan for CA governor

Rick Caruso threw his full support behind Democrat San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan for California governor, saying that Mahan is the “only proven candidate” in the race.

The billionaire Los Angeles real estate developer, who recently dropped out of both the race for Los Angeles mayor and the CA governor, said he knows the SJ mayor is the only one who can fix the many problems facing the state.

In the video posted on X, the Republican turned Democrat stood next to Mahan, labeling him “one of the brightest and most capable leaders in our state.”

Caruso added Mahan was “brimming with innovative ideas to deliver solutions without getting sidetracked with partisan nonsense.”

“He’s the only candidate in the race who is an executive who has run something successfully both in the private sector,” and as mayor of San Jose, Caruso said.

The real estate developer said Mahan is “the only candidate in the race who knows fixing California’s problems is not about rehashing the same old Washington, D.C. political arguments. But it’s about making the practical changes we need to achieve real commonsense solutions.”

However, as to what those solutions were, Caruso and Mahan did not elaborate. 

Caruso also wrote on X that Mahan “is a doer, not a career talker. While others debate politics, Matt delivers results. He knows fixing California takes practical, common sense solutions that actually make life better for people.”

Mahan enters the already crowded field of Democrats vying for the top job in the state, with just four months left till the primary.

Caruso recently teased a return to the race for LA mayor following reports that embattled LA Mayor Karen Bass had altered a Palisades wildfire report, as The Post reported.

“Well, I’ve gotten a lot of calls today, as you can imagine, and I know there’s been a lot of posts on X and other places asking me to jump back in, and I’m honored by that,” he said in an interview with KNX News.

“I don’t have a lot of time to decide, obviously, because we’ve got a looming deadline this Saturday,” the 67-year-old billionaire developer added. “I’m going to be meeting and talking with the family, and we’ll see what we decide to do.”

However, a short time later, Caruso’s political adviser Mike Murphy, told the Los Angeles Times that he will not be running.

“Rick is incredibly moved by the outpouring of support but reached an earlier decision in a thoughtful process and it stands,” Murphy said. “He will not be a candidate for mayor.”