Los Angeles Voters Choose Between Mayor Bass and Challenger Raman in Tight Runoff

Los Angeles voters will settle one of the most closely watched local contests in the country on Tuesday, choosing between incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman. The latest Berkeley IGS/L.A. Times poll shows the two in a dead heat, with about a fifth of those surveyed still undecided.

The race took shape in February, when Raman, a policy-focused councilmember aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, entered at the last minute to challenge Bass. The mayor had been weakened politically by her handling of the Palisades fire, and she has been on the defensive since. She has pointed to her record on crime and affordable housing while highlighting Raman's missteps in recent weeks.

The two were once allies. Bass, 73, backed Raman during a difficult 2024 reelection bid, and Raman, 45, publicly endorsed Bass in January before reversing course weeks later. Dan Schnur, who teaches political communications at USC and UC Berkeley, said undecided voters face a choice between "an unsatisfying status quo" and "a relatively unknown quantity who could make things better or worse."

Raman has cast Bass as a weak and ineffective leader, citing the fire response, homelessness and the city's trouble delivering basic services. At a Thursday news conference near the unfinished SkyLink people mover at Los Angeles International Airport, which is years behind schedule and $1.4 billion over budget, she said Angelenos "pay more and get less." She has also accused Bass of pay-to-play politics, pointing to police union support tied to pay raises and business backing linked to the $2.6 billion Convention Center upgrade.

Bass has countered that Raman changes her positions too often, including on police hiring and the city's mansion tax. All 14 of her council colleagues have backed the mayor, and some have said openly that they do not trust Raman. Bass also defended the police raises as necessary to keep officers on the force, and she cited a 47% drop in homicides. She has warned that Raman's plan to replace Police Chief Jim McDonnell would create turmoil at the LAPD just before the Olympics.

Raman's statements on McDonnell have shifted several times, and she answered "I don't know" when asked on CNN to name a police chief she admired. A video in which she appeared with an Instagram influencer was taken down after she said her remarks had been improperly edited. "We don't know where she stands on anything," Bass said Friday in Encino.

Money has poured in on both sides. Hedge fund manager Aaron Sosnick put $8 million into campaigns backing Raman and attacking Bass, and the carpenters union added $3.8 million. The DSA endorsed Raman in the runoff by a 937-to-484 vote. The Los Angeles Police Protective League's political action committee has spent about $6 million against Raman, while the Central City Assn. spent $2 million in support of Bass.

Raman can point to a 49% reduction in unsheltered homelessness in her district. Citywide numbers rose again despite more than $300 million spent on Bass's Inside Safe program. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who had clashed with Bass, endorsed Raman.

The winner will lead the city through the 2028 Summer Olympics. If the Games lose money, Los Angeles would be responsible for the first $270 million. The next mayor will also negotiate new contracts with city employee unions, with police talks set to begin in January.

Fernando Guerra of Loyola Marymount University said the race has turned on image more than policy: Bass as the establishment and Raman as the future. Voters who backed Spencer Pratt in the primary, where he took about a quarter of the vote, may prove decisive, Schnur said. Raman could win those who wanted a disruptor, he said, while Bass's law-and-order message appears to be gaining with more conservative ones.