Nithya Raman has ousted incumbent Karen Bass for Los Angeles mayor, according to projections from Decision Desk HQ, CBS News and NBC News.
The progressive city councilmember won by about four percentage points, according to the latest Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk results. County elections officials are scheduled to certify election results on Nov. 27.
It is the first time since 2005 that an incumbent Los Angeles mayor has lost.
“Here in Los Angeles, this election is about change, too,” Raman told supporters after polls closed on Nov. 3. “A city that was engineered over the last few decades to resist change, and the people right here who said enough is enough.”
It’s not the first time Raman has defeated an incumbent; she won
a city council seat in 2020, backed by the Democratic Socialists of America Los Angeles chapter.
Bass, who made history as the first woman to serve as mayor of Los Angeles when she was elected in 2022, is an experienced elected official who found herself tasked with overseeing a city facing devastating fires, clashes with federal immigration enforcement, and persistent concerns about homelessness. Prior to her mayoralty, she served in the House of Representatives and in California’s Legislature.
“Four years ago, you elected me as the first Black woman mayor in the history of Los Angeles," Bass said in a statement. "You gave me the honor of serving the city that raised me, and every single day since, I have carried that responsibility with me."
Bass said she's called Raman to congratulate her on the victory, and said she's committed to "ensuring a smooth and seamless transition." She said Los Angeles has taken on "some of the most difficult challenges facing any major American city" during her tenure.
"Coming out of the pandemic, when encampments lined our streets and businesses were trying to reopen — we got Angelenos off the streets, made our neighborhoods safer, built more affordable housing, and created new opportunities for working families," she said. "We stood together through devastating wildfires and protected our immigrant communities when Donald Trump sent federal troops into our streets to spread fear and intimidation. That progress belongs to all of us."
Questions about public safety, homeless encampments, building affordable housing, and the city’s challenged entertainment industry repeatedly came up in the race. But the race also raised concerns about the city’s responsiveness to issues — like its ability to fix potholes or get LAX’s long-awaited and troubled electric train, known as the people mover, open.
Raman entered the mayoral race at the last minute, telling NBC4 just two days after she joined that she’s running because she’s been frustrated with how Los Angeles has been delivering on some of the “basic services.”
“We’re at a moment where we’re not delivering on the basics at a time when the public has trusted us with hundreds of millions of dollars to solve complex problems like our housing crisis and our homelessness crisis, and I feel like Los Angeles is really in a moment of turmoil right now,” Raman said.
Raman has garnered comparisons to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for their democratic socialist ties throughout the race. But those ties frequently became a point Raman had to explain.
Raman said that part of her hope for Los Angeles is to build a “big tent progressive coalition that can dream of a better city together.” DSA is “part of that,” she said at the end of September. Although DSA-LA endorsed her in September, the organization and the city councilmember haven't always been on the same side. The Los Angeles Times reported that a national DSA panel voted on whether to rescind the endorsement the day before the election.
“I’ve proven myself to be an independent voice during my time on the council,” Raman said in September. She added that she’s taken heat from people for speaking out on issues she doesn’t agree with, or on issues she’s changed her mind about.
Raman, who was born in India, received her graduate degree from MIT and is a mother of two. She's pushed for renters' protections and more oversight of the city's homelessness spending, shaped Los Angeles' sanctuary city ordinance, and said she'll sign an executive order on her first day to speed up housing approvals.
But just like Bass had to defend her record, so did Raman. The mayor’s campaign has pointed to the city councilmember’s voting record on hiring for the Los Angeles Police Department — concerns about staffing levels for a police department serving a sprawling city have repeatedly come up in the race — and Bass has characterized her as absent from her duties.
Despite many of Raman's peers supporting Bass, the city councilmember found allies in Kenneth Mejia, the Los Angeles city controller who has amassed his own following, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath. She also found support in the Western States Carpenters, the progressive organization LA Forward, and Unite Here Local 11, a union that says it represents thousands of workers in restaurants, airports, sports arenas, and other industries.
"We have had enough of establishment politics,” Raman told supporters on Nov. 3. “This campaign has made it clear that the days of our broken status quo are over.”
When does Nithya Raman become LA mayor?
Her term begins Dec. 14.
A Los Angeles mayor's term is four years with a two-term maximum, according to the Los Angeles City Clerk's office.
Paris Barraza covers Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at pbarraza@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nithya Raman wins fierce LA mayor race, ousting Bass, per race calls
