Democratic Socialist Nithya Raman Defeats Incumbent Karen Bass in Los Angeles Mayoral Race

Nithya Raman defeated incumbent Karen Bass in the race for mayor of Los Angeles. The Associated Press called the contest on Thursday.

Raman secured 52.1 percent of the vote compared to 47.9 percent for Bass, with 76 percent of votes counted. Bass announced she called and conceded to Raman in a social media post on Thursday. Raman entered the race late after initially endorsing Bass, announcing her candidacy just hours before the filing deadline. Raman ran on a platform focused on addressing homelessness, increasing affordable housing, protecting residents from immigration enforcement, and fixing city infrastructure and services.

Raman is a Los Angeles City Council member who was first elected in 2020 and backed by the Democratic Socialists of America. Born in Thrissur, India, Raman immigrated to the United States as a child and earned degrees from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her victory places democratic socialists in leadership positions in both New York City and Los Angeles. President Donald Trump responded to the electoral success of democratic socialists by warning that the impact of their policy changes might become irreversible.