It's Rep. Karen Bass vs. billionaire Rick Caruso in Los Angeles mayoral runoff

Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) and Rick Caruso, a billionaire businessman, will face off against each other in a November runoff election to become the next mayor of Los Angeles.

Neither Democrat exceeded the 50% threshold needed to secure the party nomination outright in Tuesday's primary, setting the stage for a Southern California showdown that will decide who will replace outgoing Democratic Mayor Eric Garcetti as the country's second-largest city grapples with unbridled crime and homelessness.

Polling had shown the two locked in a tight race in the city's first open mayoral primary in nearly a decade. A key issue in the contest has been how to address soaring crime, as homicides in the city are on track to top last year's 15-year high, according to the Lost Angeles Times.

Caruso, who sits on the board of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation and was a Republican until converting to the Democratic side, has campaigned as a staunch defender of law enforcement, vowing to bolster the Los Angeles Police Department.