Los Angeles mayoral election: Nithya Raman jumps to second place, likely to face Karen Bass | Today’s news
Indian-American politician Nithya Raman moved into second place in the Los Angeles mayoral race, putting her on track to advance to the November runoff against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass.
According to the latest tally released by the Los Angeles County Registrar/Recorder, Bass leads the nonpartisan contest with 34.68% of the vote, while Raman climbed to 27.12%, narrowly edging out Republican reality TV personality Spencer Pratt, who has 26.69%.
The primary election was held on January 2 and roughly 80% of the ballots were counted. California’s lengthy vote-counting process, especially for mail-in ballots, allowed Raman to erase an initial 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 fueled this campaign,” Raman said in a statement.
Bass is seeking a second term due to voter dissatisfaction
Bass, 72, is seeking a second term after a turbulent first four years in office. Elected in 2022 on promises to address homelessness and improve housing affordability, she faced criticism for the city’s response to homelessness, economic problems and devastating wildfires.
Her administration has also had to contend with job losses in Hollywood, immigration crackdowns under President Donald Trump and continued public frustration with homelessness.
Despite these challenges, Bass highlighted the progress made under her leadership, particularly the reduction of street homelessness.
During a recent live stream on Instagram, 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 when you put someone who is a reality show star in a seat of power.”
Raman campaigns on affordability and housing
Raman, a Democratic Socialist-backed councilwoman representing Los Angeles’ fourth district, has focused her campaign on affordability, infrastructure improvements, affordable housing, climate action and reforms to the city’s homelessness programs.
She also criticized Bass’ handling of homelessness initiatives, arguing that Los Angeles needs a more urgent response to housing affordability issues.
Her progressive platform has drawn comparisons to Zohran Mamdani, another democratic socialist who won the New York mayoral election last year.
Raman recently pointed out that polling suggests her campaign has remained competitive despite significant spending by opponents.
“After millions of dollars they spend against us, we’re still here and we’re still competitive,” she said in a campaign video posted on Instagram.
Critics, however, portrayed Raman as too left-wing for many voters in Los Angeles. Her earlier support for cutting police spending has become a main line of attack for opponents.
Pratt’s outsider campaign is gaining traction
Pratt, best known for his stint on the reality TV show The Hills, ran an unconventional social media campaign targeting public safety, government dysfunction and dissatisfaction with City Hall.
His campaign gained momentum after a strong debate and viral online videos portraying him as a Batman-like figure fighting against what he calls the Democratic establishment in Los Angeles.
Pratt’s campaign gained further momentum after he lost his home in the region’s devastating wildfires, an experience he often references when criticizing Bass’ leadership.
Both Pratt and Raman attacked Bass over the city’s response to the wildfire, increasingly turning their criticisms against each other as the race intensified.
If Bass doesn’t get more than 50% of the vote outright, Los Angeles voting rules require the top two finishers to advance to the November round. With thousands of ballots still to be counted, Raman seems well placed to challenge Bass in what is shaping up to be a closely watched contest.
