Nithya Raman defeats incumbent Karen Bass in Los Angeles mayoral race

Nithya Raman, a Democratic socialist and current Los Angeles City Councilmember, has defeated incumbent Karen Bass in the Los Angeles mayoral race, according to projections from NBC News and CBS News. Raman, 45, is a former urban planner and activist who has served on the Los Angeles City Council since 2020.

Election Results and Margins

As of Thursday morning, with 76% of the expected vote in, Raman held a lead of 429,450 to 394,796 votes over Bass, according to figures from county elections officials. This represents a 52.1% to 47.9% lead for Raman. While early election night returns showed Bass with a slender lead, Raman took the lead as late-arriving ballots, which often skew toward young voters and renters, were counted.

Candidate Backgrounds and Campaigns

Nithya Raman, who was born in India and moved to the U.S. as a child, holds degrees from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Before joining the City Council, she served as the co-chair of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Homelessness Committee and co-founded the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition. In 2025, she introduced a motion that capped maximum annual rent increases for tenants in rent-stabilized apartments built before 1978, which passed 13-2.

Karen Bass, the incumbent, has served as Los Angeles' 43rd Mayor since 2022. A former six-term congresswoman, Bass has also served as a member of the California Assembly, where she was the first Black woman to serve as Speaker of a state legislative body. Bass faced challenges during her campaign, including low approval ratings and scrutiny regarding her response to a January 2025 wildfire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, which destroyed thousands of homes and killed 12 people while she was in Ghana.

Key Issues and Political Context

The campaign featured sharp disagreements on several urban issues:

• Homelessness and Housing: Raman accused Bass of mismanaging the city's homelessness problem and rising housing prices, characterizing City Hall as having "a reluctance to move forward with the transformative policy change that this city needs right now."
• Public Safety: Bass's campaign attacked Raman over her stance on police funding and her stated intent to oust LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell. The Los Angeles Police Protective League expressed "uncertainty and angst" regarding potential major cuts to the LAPD.
• Foreign Policy: The candidates differed on Israel's war in Gaza. Raman stated she agreed with influencer Hasan Piker that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians; Bass rejected that label.

Why it matters

This election results in Los Angeles being led by a politician with support from democratic socialists, joining New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Washington, D.C. Mayor Janeese Lewis George. Raman's victory follows a significant political shift in the 2026 US midterm elections, where Democrats won control of the House and Senate.

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Sources

• theguardian.com: Democratic socialist Nithya Raman wins Los Angeles mayoral race over incumbent Karen Bass | US midterm elections 2026 | The Guardian
• nbcnews.com: Democratic socialist Nithya Raman pulls off upset in Los Angeles mayor race, defeating Karen Bass
• nbclosangeles.com: Nithya Raman defeats Karen Bass in LA mayor election – NBC Los Angeles
• cbsnews.com: Nithya Raman ousts incumbent Karen Bass in Los Angeles mayor's race, CBS News projects - CBS Los Angeles
• variety.com: Nithya Raman Wins Los Angeles Mayoral Race

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.