CBS News projected that City Councilmember Nithya Raman has defeated incumbent Karen Bass in the November general election for mayor of Los Angeles. The projection follows a contest that saw Raman, who previously served as a neighborhood council homelessness committee co-chair, overtake other candidates to face Bass in the runoff.
Raman entered the race in February, despite having previously endorsed Bass for reelection. During the primary, Raman described her own campaign as a "long shot" before advancing past third-place candidate Spencer Pratt. Bass, who has served as Los Angeles' 43rd mayor and a long-time member of Congress, stated that this mayoral race would be her final campaign for public office.
Polling conducted by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and the Los Angeles Times shortly before the election showed the candidates tied at 40% among likely voters. While Bass saw a late shift in support from 41% of Pratt's former primary voters, Raman maintained enough momentum to secure the projected victory. Bass had received endorsements from California Governor Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as 2022 mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, who cited concerns over Raman's competence.
The scale of the leadership change involves the oversight of the second-largest city in the United States and its multi-billion dollar annual budget. For the thousands of tenants in the city's older housing stock, Raman's past legislative focus suggests a continued emphasis on rent stabilization measures. Small business owners may also see new proposals, though the source does not detail specific dollar amounts or the exact timing of when these changes would appear in business fees or tax bills.
The transition marks a shift from the administration of Karen Bass, a former Speaker of the California Assembly and 12-year veteran of the U.S. House of Representatives. While the specific date for the mayoral inauguration was not reported, the outcome concludes a cycle where Democratic candidates saw various victories nationally. The next steps for the city government involve the certification of the vote and the transition of executive authority from Bass to Raman.