Los Angeles mayoral race remains deadlocked as counts continue

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and her challenger Nithya Raman remained virtually tied in the early hours of Wednesday, November 4, as the city waited for the final results of its mayoral election. The race pitted the incumbent against a City Council member backed by the Democratic Socialists of America. Both candidates are Democrats, and the outcome will determine who leads the nation's second most populous city through the upcoming 2028 Olympic Games.

Initial tallies after polls closed gave Bass a slight advantage. However, subsequent updates showed Raman closing the gap. By the early Wednesday counts, the challenger had slipped ahead with a slim lead. Approximately one-third of total ballots had not yet been processed.

The path to this election began with Bass taking office in 2022 after defeating developer Rick Caruso. Her tenure has been marked by several high-profile crises, including the 2025 Palisades Fire, which became the most destructive blaze in city history. Bass was out of the country when the fire started. In June of this year, a separate fire in a frozen-food warehouse east of downtown caused weeks of odor complaints. These events have fueled criticism of her leadership during emergencies.

Raman, 45, is an urban planner who served on the City Council for six years before entering the race. She previously endorsed Bass but later decided to run herself. In a statement, Raman argued that the city could not afford another four years of what she described as decline and mismanagement. She contrasted her platform with Bass's record, emphasizing a need for structural change in how the city handles homelessness and policing.

On election night, Bass addressed cheering supporters with a speech focused on her experience. She declared, “We will achieve victory. I love Los Angeles.” She led the crowd in chanting “Four more years” and added, “When we fight, we win.” Bass, 73, has a long political history, having served in the state Legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives. She has the backing of prominent Democrats, including Governor Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Raman took a different tone at her victory watch party. She described herself as “very hopeful” and encouraged attendees to dance. She linked the local race to national trends in Democratic politics, stating, “This election is about change too.” She warned that “Hopelessness can be fatal for a city,” and noted that her campaign rejected that sentiment. Her support includes advocacy groups like Our Revolution and the Sierra Club, though she lacks many endorsements from local political leaders compared to Bass.

The campaign centered on public safety and homelessness. Bass advocated for hiring more police officers and criticized Raman's past positions on policing as “extreme.” Raman said she would replace the current police chief if elected, a move Bass called reckless before the Olympics. Raman previously supported defunding the police but now says the department should stay at its current size. She plans to reduce the number of people sleeping in encampments by at least 50 percent by 2028 through expanded medical teams and housing.

Bass emphasized that the city has cleared dozens of encampments and sheltered thousands of people. She pointed to data showing that nearly half of those individuals eventually left the shelter system. Raman opposed recent measures to ban tents within 500 feet of schools and daycares but said she would not block no-camping zones if elected. She also pledged to provide more housing to move people out of city-rented hotels.

A Berkeley IGS/LA Times poll conducted from October 19 to 25 found that about 4 in 10 likely voters ranked reducing homeless encampments as a top priority. About 3 in 10 cited public safety or affordable housing. Raman used the debate to highlight these issues, stating, “Homelessness is rising despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent. Storefronts are closing.” She accused Bass of being “missing in action” during these struggles.

The result will also influence the political landscape for democratic socialists in major U.S. cities. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was elected last year, and Janeese Lewis George won the mayoral race in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Katie Wilson currently serves as mayor in Seattle. A victory for Raman would place Los Angeles among these cities, while a win for Bass would retain an incumbent with strong ties to the national Democratic establishment.