Indian-origin Democrat Nithya Raman has overtaken Republican television star Spencer Pratt in a June 2 primary to secure a place in the Los Angeles mayoral race and will take on incumbent Mayor Karen Bass
for the top spot in November, according to a CNN projection.
Raman, a progressive Democrat and LA City Council member, secured 28.5% of the votes as compared to Pratt’s 25.8% in the run-off to secure a tightly contested second place in the LA Mayor race. She will face Bass, who had already been projected to advance on election night, in November.
The Associated Press also called the race, concluding that Raman would have enough votes to make a runoff against Mayor Bass. After initially lagging behind Pratt on election night, Raman outperformed both Bass and Pratt through Sunday, gaining 43,000 votes on Pratt and increasing her overall share of the vote by about five points.
“I’m incredibly honoured that voters have given us the opportunity to advance to the general election for Mayor of Los Angeles,” she said. “To the thousands of supporters who knocked doors, made calls, sent texts, donated, and opened their homes for events across the city, and to everyone else who made this moment possible: thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”
I’m incredibly honored that voters have given us the opportunity to advance to the general election for Mayor of Los Angeles.
To the thousands of supporters who knocked doors, made calls, sent texts, donated, and opened their homes for events across the city, and to everyone…
— Nithya Raman (@nithyavraman) June 9, 2026
Who Is Nithya Raman?
Raman, 44, is an urban planner who has represented the Los Angeles City Council’s 4th District since 2020, becoming the first Asian-American woman and the first South Asian ever to serve on the City Council.
Born into a Tamil Iyer family in Kerala, Raman moved to Louisiana at the age of six. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political theory from Harvard University and a Master’s degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Before moving to Los Angeles in 2014, Raman lived in India, where she founded Transparent Chennai, a nonprofit research firm that used data and community organising to advocate for underserved communities in Chennai. After moving to LA, she worked for the city administrative officer.
In 2017, she founded the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition, a homelessness outreach nonprofit. She ran for the LA City Council in 2020, centring her campaign on homelessness. She defeated a candidate backed by Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton.
Comparisons With Zohran Mamdani
Raman rocked the LA political establishment by contesting for the mayoral post, just weeks after endorsing Bass. She has frequently been compared to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, with both politicians sharing ties to the Democratic Socialists of America.
She has also focused her mayoral campaign on homelessness. Raman has vowed to reduce the number of people sleeping in tents or encampments before LA hosts the 2028 Olympics. She said the city was at a “breaking point”, unable to manage the basics and adequately respond to homelessness and a housing shortage, according to The Guardian.
Raman lives in Silver Lake with her husband Vali Chandrasekaran and young twins Karna and Kaveri.
