Nithya Raman has won the closely contested race for mayor of Los Angeles, defeating incumbent Karen Bass with backing from democratic socialists. Bass conceded on Thursday, congratulating Raman in a written statement and pledging to ensure a smooth transfer of power.
The result makes Raman the first challenger to unseat a Los Angeles mayor since 2005. A city council member and former Bass ally, she surprised the political establishment in the country's second-largest city by entering the race against the incumbent. Born in India, Raman worked as an urban planner and advocated for homeless people before her mayoral victory. She was first elected to the City Council in 2020.
Her win adds to a series of recent election victories in which rising progressives and democratic socialists have displaced centrist politicians across the United States. Raman has generally welcomed comparisons with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who won election a year earlier, but has resisted being portrayed simply as his West Coast counterpart. In an interview with Vanity Fair, she said: "I am different. I am myself."
Homelessness was a central issue throughout the Los Angeles campaign. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority's latest annual count recorded about 44,000 homeless people within the city in 2025. Of those, roughly 27,000 were living without shelter, including on streets, in vehicles and in encampments. Nearly 5,000 were concentrated in the downtown Skid Row district.
In a video thanking voters and campaign volunteers, Raman outlined commitments to affordable housing, parks where children can play and public transit that takes residents where they need to go. She also pledged to make Los Angeles safe for working people and families, placing those needs alongside housing in her message following the election.
Raman also acknowledged Bass's years of public service. Before becoming the first woman elected mayor of Los Angeles, Bass served six terms in Congress and worked as a nurse and an emergency room physician's assistant. She had made addressing homelessness a leading priority when she took office four years ago, but many advocates for affordable housing criticized the pace of progress.
Bass also faced criticism over the city's handling of the January 2025 Palisades fire, which weakened her political standing. Among the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history, it killed 12 people and destroyed more than 6,800 structures. The Eaton fire, which burned at the same time through Altadena and nearby neighborhoods east of Los Angeles, killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 homes, businesses and other structures.
