Nithya Raman elected Los Angeles mayor, according to Thursday projections, marking a breakthrough for a younger progressive bloc that has gained traction across the city.
Raman, 45, a democratic socialist and former City Council member, defeated incumbent Karen Bass, 73. The outcome, reported by election authorities, underscores growing influence from younger Angelenos focused on daily quality-of-life concerns, including affordability and city services.
Nithya Raman elected Los Angeles mayor signals appetite for change
A Harvard-educated policy specialist who served six years on the City Council, Raman steered her campaign toward the pocketbook and neighborhood issues that have frustrated many residents. Surveys throughout the race showed her with a substantial lead among voters under 35. By Thursday, she led with 52 percent of the vote, and other Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates secured victories for city attorney and Congress. Members aligned with the movement already hold three of 15 City Council seats. Bass called Raman on Thursday morning to concede as the count continued.
“I have committed to ensuring a smooth and seamless transition,” Bass said in a statement, adding that moving the city forward would require unity.
Raman, who until recently was little known outside progressive circles, addressed reporters Thursday evening at a Fairfax District farmers market. She said homelessness, housing costs and public safety would be her top priorities. She also aimed to reassure residents who did not support her, calling for trust-building and civic engagement.
Born in India, Raman credited Los Angeles with opening doors to newcomers and said her election as an immigrant was deeply meaningful. Early returns showed her strength on the Eastside and in neighborhoods with large populations of renters, younger residents and newcomers. Bass performed better among homeowners on the Westside, in the San Fernando Valley and in historically Black communities in South Los Angeles. In Boyle Heights, a largely Latino neighborhood affected by a cold storage warehouse fire in June, many voters who had backed Bass in the primary shifted to Raman in the general election.
Interviews with voters reflected a desire for basics-first governance. Supporters cited Raman’s focus on city services and skepticism toward police spending. Some Bass supporters lamented losing a steady hand and argued that the incumbent should have had more time to finish her agenda.
Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at the University of California, Los Angeles, said Raman’s win reflected an electorate convinced the city was on the wrong path. A countywide survey from UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs early this year recorded the lowest satisfaction with quality of life in more than a decade.
A turbulent term for Karen Bass
Bass, a physician assistant by training and longtime organizer in South Los Angeles, rose as a progressive voice outside establishment circles. She won the mayor’s office in 2022 as Los Angeles emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic, defeating developer Rick Caruso, who spent $100 million of his own money on that campaign.
Her tenure turned in January 2025 when she traveled to Africa at the request of the Biden administration and was abroad when destructive wildfires broke out. The fires devastated Pacific Palisades, and many residents faulted her for being absent during the emergency, clouding her reelection prospects.
Six months later, a federal crackdown on immigrants in Los Angeles prompted protests, followed by the deployment of roughly 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 U.S. Marines to Southern California. The presence lasted through the end of the year and escalated clashes between the White House and Bass. The partisan standoff rallied some support for the mayor but did not prevent a strong challenge. After civic leader Austin Beutner briefly entered the race and then withdrew following a family tragedy, Raman joined the field.
Campaign strategy and contrasts
An urban planning specialist first elected to the City Council in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter movement, Raman cast Los Angeles as “broken” and argued that Bass had fallen short on basic services. Her team leaned on social media to reach younger voters, including scripted microdramas and skits with DSA-aligned actors and influencers. In one video, she joked about the need for more shade in the city while pretending to be burned by hot surfaces such as a car door or park bench.
Raman at times had to clarify on-camera missteps. She also diverged from DSA orthodoxy in places, supporting adjustments to a local mansion tax that would have benefited some apartment owners. At the same time, she pledged to replace the police chief over aggressive crowd-control tactics during immigration protests. The DSA criticized the Police Department for shielding federal agents, a charge the department has disputed.
Bass called Raman’s plan to change police leadership reckless with the 2028 Olympics ahead and labeled her opponent untested. Caruso urged voters to reject Raman and the DSA. With the exception of Raman, every member of the City Council backed Bass. Raman gained financial momentum when a hedge fund manager who advocates for increased bicycle use became her largest donor, helping fund ads during Dodgers broadcasts and national news programming.
What comes next at City Hall
With Raman’s victory apparent, unions, business groups, lobbyists and nonprofits began preparing for a reshaped landscape at City Hall. The challenge now, Yaroslavsky said, is for the mayor-elect to quickly assemble an administration and begin delivering on promises to improve daily life. Raman is set to take office in six weeks.
Vik Jolly contributed reporting.