Democratic socialist Nithya Raman has toppled incumbent Karen Bass in the race for mayor of Los Angeles. The result stunned political watchers in California, given that Raman had entered the contest as a long-shot candidate against Bass, a political heavyweight who had previously served in Congress and had never lost a race for political office.
Bass announced on social media on Thursday that she had called Raman to concede. She wrote that “while this is not the outcome we hoped for, the people of Los Angeles have spoken.” In the same post, Bass said that moving the city forward was what Los Angeles needed from everyone, adding that she would keep working to ensure a better life reached all residents.
How Raman built a late challenge to Bass
Raman, a member of the city council and an Indian immigrant, ran on a platform of change and promised to fix what she called the “broken status quo” and the politicians she said had failed residents repeatedly. Her agenda included cutting homelessness, increasing housing in the city, and saving Hollywood jobs from further cuts. She also pledged to protect residents from immigration enforcement efforts.
She offered a broader list of local priorities as well, including beautification efforts, road repairs and helping bring back nightlife in the city. Raman was often compared to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, as both are democratic socialists who ran on progressive platforms.
Raman gradually built support, especially among younger voters. Earlier this year she beat reality star Spencer Pratt in the primary before facing Bass in the general contest.
Wildfires and Bass’s record in office
The most important issue in the race, according to the coverage, was the LA fires. The fires killed dozens of people and razed neighbourhoods across the area in 2025. Bass faced intense political fallout over her absence during the emergency and over the city’s response to the disaster.
Bass had been a prominent member of Congress before becoming Los Angeles’s first Black female mayor. Her ties to the city run deep. Early in her career she worked as a community organiser during the violent 1992 riots, which followed the beating of Rodney King, a Black man, and were fuelled by anger over police brutality.
The next mayor will oversee the city as it hosts the Super Bowl in 2027 and the 2028 Summer Olympics.
A wider shift toward left-wing leaders in big cities
Raman’s victory fits a pattern of sweeping Democratic wins across the country, including in deeply Republican areas that had not elected liberal leaders in decades. Los Angeles was always likely to elect a Democrat, so the central question was how far left voters would go. Raman’s win means America’s two biggest cities will now be led by democratic socialists, a group that includes high-profile figures such as Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Washington DC also elected democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George as its mayor, extending progressive leadership to another major US city. Such candidates have become a focal point of attacks by Republicans.
Asked at the White House about the wins by politicians on the left flank of the Democratic Party, US President Donald Trump said, “If you go by history, it’s going to be a disaster.”
