Karen Bass loses to onetime ally Nithya Raman for Los Angeles mayor

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman defeated Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday, unseating the incumbent after a bruising campaign centered on the city’s response to the devastating Palisades wildfire, homelessness, and frustration with basic city services.The race was called for Raman at 2:49 p.m. Eastern by the Associated Press. She won 52.1% of the vote to Bass’s 47.9%, with 76% of ballots counted.The contest tested Bass’s political standing after the January 2025 Palisades fire destroyed thousands of homes and killed 12 people while she was out of the country. Criticism of the mayor’s handling of the disaster and recovery effort followed her into the campaign, giving Raman an opening to argue that Los Angeles needed a change in leadership. Raman, a fellow Democrat who had endorsed Bass earlier in the year before launching her own mayoral bid, campaigned on improving city management and delivering better basic services. Her victory marks a major upset for Bass and a breakthrough for Raman, who received support from the Democratic Socialists of America and other progressive groups.DEMOCRATS QUESTION HARRIS’S 2028 PROSPECTS AS SHE RETURNS TO CAMPAIGN TRAIL: ‘WHY NOT BRING BACK JOHN KERRY?’Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilwoman Nithya Raman. (AP Photos) Raman finished second in the June primary, edging out reality television star Spencer Pratt, and entered the general election as the challenger to a sitting mayor.Public safety became a central battleground in the mayoral race, exposing a sharp divide between Bass and Raman over how the city should police its streets. Raman pledged to install a new police chief, while Bass publicly backed the department’s leadership and appeared alongside Chief Jim McDonnell in the city’s Skid Row area to highlight an operation targeting drug activity. Raman and Bass also clashed over emergency response times and how the city should prepare for security challenges tied to the 2028 Olympics.Bass was first elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2004 and later became the first woman and first African American to serve as speaker of the California Assembly. She was elected to Congress in 2010 and won the Los Angeles mayor’s race in 2022, defeating billionaire developer Rick Caruso despite being dramatically outspent.Raman has served on the City Council since 2020, representing a district that stretches from Silver Lake to the San Fernando Valley. She has made homelessness and housing central to her political career and has pushed for changes to the city’s approach to policing and public safety.BASS SPLITS FROM PROGRESSIVE RIVAL ON ISRAEL IN LA MAYORAL RACEGov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) endorsed Bass ahead of the primary, praising her partnership with the state and highlighting her work in boosting film production in Los Angeles, reducing homelessness (which has since reversed), and lowering violent crime.