Nithya Raman wins Los Angeles mayoral race, unseating incumbent Karen Bass

CBS News has projected that Nithya Raman will become the next mayor of Los Angeles following the November general election. The victory marks the end of the tenure of incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, who conceded the race on Thursday morning. This result aligns with a broader trend of resounding victories for Democratic candidates across the United States on Election Day.

In a statement released shortly after the projection, Mayor Bass acknowledged the outcome, noting that she had personally called Councilmember Raman to congratulate her on the win. Bass wrote, "While this is not the outcome we hoped for, the people of Los Angeles have spoken." She committed to ensuring a smooth and seamless transition to the new administration while thanking her supporters and allies who backed her campaign.

Bass expressed her intention to continue her work to ensure that the promise of a better life remains accessible to all residents. The election concluded a competitive race that saw both candidates rise to the forefront after the June primary. At that time, they overtook third-place candidate Spencer Pratt to secure their spots in the general election. However, the final weeks of the campaign saw shifting dynamics among voters who had previously supported Pratt.

A joint survey conducted by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and the Los Angeles Times, released shortly before the election, indicated that the race was effectively tied, with both candidates garnering 40% support among likely voters. Mark DiCamillo, the director of the Berkeley IGS poll, explained that many voters who had backed Pratt in the primary had shifted their support to Bass. Specifically, 41% of Pratt's primary voters moved to Bass, a significant increase from her previous 22% support among that group.

Raman, a Democratic socialist, experienced a slight decline in support among Pratt's former voters, dropping from 16% in September to 14% in October. Despite this, the poll revealed that a substantial portion, 45%, of Pratt's supporters remained undecided until the final days. Raman had previously described her campaign as a long shot after announcing her surprise bid in February, a decision that came after she had initially endorsed Bass for reelection.

Raman's political career began before her 2020 election to the Los Angeles City Council. She served as co-chair of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Homelessness Committee and co-founded a nonprofit organization dedicated to homeless advocacy. One of her most significant achievements in office occurred in 2025 when she introduced a motion to cap maximum annual rent increases for tenants in rent-stabilized apartments built before 1978. The measure passed with a 13-2 vote, and Raman has expressed her hope to undertake similar initiatives to support small businesses as mayor.

Karen Bass, who served more than two decades in public office, stated that this would be her last campaign for elected office. Raised in Los Angeles with three brothers, Bass began her career as a nurse and physician assistant. She later founded the Community Coalition to assist underserved residents in South Los Angeles with issues such as substance abuse, poverty, and crime. Her political journey started in 2004 when she joined the California Assembly, where she became the first Black woman to serve as Speaker of a state legislative body.

Bass left the state Assembly in 2010 to run for Congress, where she served in the House for 12 years before becoming the 43rd Mayor of Los Angeles. Leading up to the primary, she secured endorsements from prominent figures, including California Governor Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris. In the final week before the November election, billionaire Rick Caruso announced his support for Bass, despite their rivalry in the 2022 mayoral race.

Caruso posted on X that he was putting the past behind him because the election needed to focus on the city's future. He stated that he would be casting his ballot for Mayor Karen Bass. Although he supported her, Caruso noted that he had concerns about Raman, describing them as related more to competence than ideology.