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Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman has defeated incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, becoming the first Democratic socialist to lead the nation's second-largest city.
CNN projected Raman as the winner Thursday (November 5), two days after Election Day on Tuesday (November 3). She held a lead of approximately 26,000 votes, or 3 percentage points, out of 784,262 votes counted, according to The Hill.
Raman's campaign challenged Bass' record on homelessness, affordable housing, public safety and the city's response to the January 2025 Palisades and Eaton wildfires, the Los Angeles Times reported. During an October debate, Raman criticized Bass for being in Ghana on a presidential delegation when the Palisades Fire broke out.
Bass apologized for her absence, saying, "I am so profoundly sorry that I was not in my city when my city needed me." She also defended her administration's recovery efforts, pointing to steps taken to help residents rebuild, NBC Los Angeles reported.
The two Democrats previously supported one another politically. Bass endorsed Raman's 2024 City Council reelection campaign, appeared in her campaign advertisements and helped her secure the Los Angeles County Democratic Party's endorsement, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Raman's path to the mayor's office began on the Los Angeles City Council, where she was first elected in 2020 after defeating incumbent David Ryu, a Democrat. She is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
Raman's victory means the nation's two largest cities, Los Angeles and New York, will be led by democratic socialist mayors next year, following Zohran Mamdani's election in New York City in 2025.
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