Los Angeles mayoral election: Nithya Raman surges into second place, set for likely runoff against Karen Bass
Indian-American politician Nithya Raman has moved into second place in the race for Los Angeles mayor, putting her on track to advance to a November
Indian-American politician Nithya Raman has moved into second place in the race for Los Angeles mayor, putting her on track to advance to a November runoff against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. According to the latest tally released by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, Bass leads the nonpartisan contest with 34.68% of the vote, while Raman has climbed to 27.12%, narrowly overtaking Republican reality television personality Spencer Pratt, who stands at 26.69%. The primary election was held on January 2, and roughly 80% of ballots have been counted. California's lengthy vote-counting process, particularly for mail-in ballots, allowed Raman to erase an early eight-point deficit and move ahead of Pratt by more than 3,000 votes. "We are encouraged by the latest vote count and remain grateful to the thousands of Angelenos who have powered this campaign," Raman said in a statement.
Bass seeks second term amid voter dissatisfaction Bass, 72, is seeking a second term after a turbulent first four years in office. Elected in 2022 on promises to tackle homelessness and improve housing affordability, she has faced criticism over the city's response to homelessness, economic challenges, and devastating wildfires. Her administration has also had to contend with Hollywood job losses, immigration raids under President Donald Trump, and persistent public frustration over homelessness. Despite those challenges, Bass has emphasized progress made under her leadership, particularly a reduction in street homelessness. During a recent Instagram livestream, Bass took aim at Pratt's candidacy. "You have a failed reality TV star who wants to be famous," she said. "We know what it means if you put somebody who is a reality TV star in a seat of power." Raman campaigns on affordability and housing Raman, a Democratic Socialist-backed councilmember representing Los Angeles' Fourth District, has centered her campaign on affordability, infrastructure improvements, affordable housing, climate action and reforms to the city's homelessness programs.
She has also criticized Bass's handling of homelessness initiatives and argued that Los Angeles needs a more urgent response to housing affordability challenges. Her progressive platform has drawn comparisons to Zohran Mamdani, another democratic socialist who won New York City's mayoral election last year. Raman recently highlighted polling suggesting her campaign remained competitive despite significant spending by opponents. "After millions of dollars of spending against us, we are still here and we are still competitive," she said in a campaign video posted on Instagram. However, critics have portrayed Raman as being too far left for many Los Angeles voters. Her past support for reducing police spending has become a major line of attack from opponents. Pratt's outsider campaign gains attention Pratt, best known for appearing on the reality television show The Hills, has run an unconventional social media-driven campaign focused on public safety, government dysfunction and dissatisfaction with City Hall.
The BriefWire