Nithya Raman Defeats Karen Bass in Los Angeles Mayoral Race
Nithya Raman, who belongs to the Democratic Socialists of America and has served on the Los Angeles City Council since 2020, will become the city’s mayor after defeating incumbent Karen Bass. The race was called on November 4. By the following morning, Raman led 51.6% to 48.3%. Both candidates had advanced from a June election in which no one received more than half the vote.
Raman challenged Bass from the left, criticizing the incumbent’s record and arguing that the campaign should focus on results. Bass said Raman had difficult working relationships with fellow council members. Before the election, polls showed a close contest, with one survey finding about 40% support for each candidate and 20% undecided.
Raman’s council work included calling for police budget cuts, resisting efforts to clear homeless encampments and helping make Los Angeles a sanctuary city for immigrants. She takes office as a democratic socialist movement gains ground in other major cities; Zohran Mamdani was elected New York mayor in November 2025.
Bass faced criticism over homelessness and her handling of the Pacific Palisades fire. A July 2026 estimate found homelessness in Los Angeles had risen 3.4% over the year. Bass said she had made mistakes but had laid a strong foundation for the city’s future. She previously served in the House and had backed a $2.6 billion convention-center project.
Los Angeles Voters Reject Bass for a New Direction Under Raman
Los Angeles voters chose Nithya Raman over incumbent Karen Bass, sending a Democratic Socialist to lead one of the nation’s largest cities. The November 4 result, called that evening, is a rebuke to an incumbent whose record on homelessness and the Pacific Palisades fire became central campaign liabilities.
Raman, a city council member since 2020, ran to Bass’s left and made the case that the contest should be about results. Her council record includes advocating for defunding the police, opposing crackdowns on homeless encampments and helping make Los Angeles a sanctuary city for immigrants. The city’s homelessness estimate rose 3.4% in July 2026 compared with the year before.
Bass acknowledged mistakes during her four years in office, while arguing she had laid a strong foundation. But voters handed the job to Raman, who now joins a growing number of democratic socialists winning major-city elections. Zohran Mamdani was elected New York mayor in November 2025.
The race was close: one pre-election poll put both candidates at about 40%, with one in five undecided. Raman finished with 51.6% to Bass’s 48.3% in results available the next morning. Bass also criticized Raman’s working relationships with other council members, but that argument did not prevent the incumbent’s defeat.
Los Angeles Elects a Democratic Socialist After Bass’s Troubled Term
Los Angeles has elected Nithya Raman, a Democratic Socialist, as mayor, replacing Karen Bass after a term shadowed by the city’s homelessness problem and criticism of her response to the Pacific Palisades fire. Raman won 51.6% to Bass’s 48.3% in results available the morning after the November 4 election.
Raman’s council record points to the direction of her leadership: she called for police budget cuts, resisted efforts to clear homeless encampments and helped make Los Angeles a sanctuary city for immigrants. The city’s homeless population rose 3.4% in the year to July 2026. Her victory puts another major city in the hands of a democratic socialist, following Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York mayor in November 2025.
Bass struggled with voter favorability over her handling of the Pacific Palisades fire. She was in Ghana when the disaster began, and the fire chief had warned that nearly $18 million in budget cuts had limited the department’s ability to prepare for and respond to large emergencies. Bass said she had made mistakes but laid a strong foundation.
The contest was close in pre-election polling, but voters chose Raman, who argued the campaign should be about results. Bass had attacked Raman’s relationships with colleagues on the council. The result makes clear that dissatisfaction with Bass did not translate into support for a more centrist alternative: Raman won from the left.
Reported by Twitchy, The Daily Wire, Townhall, Reason, Hot Air.
