Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman has a double-digit lead over incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the Los Angeles mayor race, a new poll shows. Raman — who joined the race in the eleventh hour — picked up several major endorsements in recent weeks.
A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, co-sponsored and reported on by the Los Angeles Times, found 39% of likely voters support Raman compared to the 28% in support of Bass. However, 33% remain undecided as of the poll conducted between Sept. 15-20. This comes as ballots will start being mailed out by October.
Earlier in September, Raman earned the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America Los Angeles chapter — which she is a member of. The move signaled that enough members
support Raman’s mayoral run and unlocked more assistance for her campaign, according to DSA-LA, as the November election creeps up.
DSA-LA hadn’t previously endorsed either Raman or fellow member Rae Huang, who ran for mayor in the primary and was at times positioned as the only progressive in the running.
The DSA-LA win for Raman followed endorsements from Unite Here Local 11, a union representing thousands working in hotels, airports and sports arenas, and the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters.
“These three are all very politically astute organizations with a lot of resources,” Fernando Guerra said earlier September. He’s a professor and the director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University.
“How did they come to that decision? That should be worrisome to the Bass campaign,” Guerra said.
The endorsements came ahead of Labor Day, meaning they’ll “have enough time to mobilize and organize and be effective,” according to Guerra.
Meanwhile, Bass has collected endorsements from members of Congress, the California State Legislature and elected officials serving Los Angeles County, according to her campaign's website. The Los Angeles mayor previously was elected to the House of Representatives and the California State Legislature.
Also backing Bass is Los Angeles Federation of Labor AFL-CIO; SEIU Local 721, a major union representing public sector workers across Southern California; SEIU Local 99, which represents thousands of people such as cafeteria workers, special education assistants and custodians; and other unions.
According to the L.A. Times, 63% of voters view Bass either strongly or somewhat unfavorably compared to Raman’s 39%.
Poll reveals where Spencer Pratt supporters stand
Former reality TV star Spencer Pratt finished in third place in the primary election as votes continued to be processed and counted in the days after Election Day. The poll found that 63% of those who voted for him haven’t decided who to vote for in the quickly approaching election, according to the L.A. Times. However, Bass does have a slight edge over Raman among Pratt voters who have decided.
The survey of 2,150 likely voters in Los Angeles has a sampling error of about 3 percentage points.
When’s the next LA mayor debate?
Bass and Raman are expected to take part in back-to-back conversations as part of the Jewish Los Angeles Mayoral Forum in West Los Angeles on Sept. 29, according to the Jewish Federation Los Angeles.
When is the LA mayor election?
The election for Los Angeles mayor will be held on Nov. 3.
Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at pbarraza@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LA mayor race poll shows incumbent Bass trailing behind Raman
