Raman pulls ahead of Bass as counting continues in the race for LA mayor

As ballots continued to be tallied in a tight race to lead the nation’s second most populous city, L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman pulled ahead of incumbent Mayor Karen Bass.

Bass had taken an early lead in her race for reelection when the first ballot drops were counted Tuesday night — but it was slight, just two percentage points against an opponent who’d finished second in the primary off strong late returns.

And that lead flipped overnight, as around-the-clock ballot counts were announced by L.A. County election officials. After the count released by the L.A. County registrar early Wednesday, Raman had a lead of 51.1% to Bass’ 48.9%.

About election night

Bass addressed a celebratory crowd of supporters at Loews Hollywood Hotel, saying it “takes awhile to count the vote” and that she was confident.

“Four years ago you gave me the honor of a lifetime,” she said. “This is the Los Angeles that I will never stop fighting for.”

Bass said despite L.A’s challenges, the city still holds “extraordinary promise.” She pointed to her success making neighborhoods safer and working to bring people off the street.

The question now is whether Bass will hold onto her position as ballots continue to be tallied.

Raman told a crowd of supporters gathered at her election night party at The Greek Theatre that she was “very hopeful” about the vote count, adding she was really superstitious, “so we’re all just going to be cool.”

“Today all across America, voters demanded change,” Raman said.

“For too long our broken and unjust status quo has convinced Angelenos that this is the best that we can do,” she added. “Hopelessness can be fatal for a city, but this campaign refused to accept that.”

The results are early and not final. With a narrow margin and days of counting ahead, L.A. voters will have to bear the suspense a while longer before knowing who will lead the city for the next four years.

Ballots that are postmarked by Election Day and received within seven days will be counted. By Wednesday morning, the Associated Press estimates 63% of votes have been counted, according to their turnout estimates.

The backstory

Raman’s last-minute entry into the race shocked the city in February, and sparked a heated showdown between one-time allies.

During the June primary, Raman landed in third place on election night. She gained ground on Bass and overtook reality TV personality Spencer Pratt on day six of the count as votes were tallied after Election Day.

In this race, Raman, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, campaigned to the left of Bass. The race made national headlines, in part due to a growing number of electoral victories across the country by candidates associated with the Democratic Socialists of America — the highest-profile being New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

This showdown between the two Democrats comes at a time when the city grapples with a homelessness crisis, skyrocketing housing costs, the aftermath of the Palisades Fire and a paucity of basic city services like pothole repair — all as local officials are trying to get ready to host the Olympic Games in 2028.

Whoever wins will assume a big bully pulpit as leader of a government with a $14 billion budget.

What’s on the agenda for next term

Palisades Fire recovery efforts

The fire killed 12 people and burned nearly 7,000 structures. Property and capital losses for the Palisades and Eaton fires were between $76 billion and $131 billion, without accounting for insurance or settlement proceeds, according to the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

The next mayor will need to ensure the city continues to receive federal disaster aid recovery money and that the permitting process goes smoothly as people rebuild their homes.

Ongoing homelessness crisis

Homelessness has been an especially intractable problem. In recent years, the city has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars annually to get people off the streets and into affordable housing.

Yet more than 45,000 people live outdoors or without stable housing in the city of L.A..

Since 2020, the homeless population has increased by nearly 10% in the city, according to the official homeless counts.

Housing

The next mayor will need to decide whether to allow affordable housing projects in neighborhoods zoned for single-family homes. The strategy is important to expanding the affordable housing stock, yet Bass abandoned it after an outcry from so-called NIMBYs (shorthand for “not in my backyard” — those who don’t want development near them).

The next mayor will also have to decide whether to support delays in the implementation of SB79, the law that allows taller apartment buildings near train lines.

The LAPD

The Los Angeles Police Department has shrunk to fewer than 8,700 officers — down from 10,000 just a few years ago. The next mayor will have to decide whether to pour more resources into increasing the size of the department or support further reductions.

Olympics

The next mayor will preside over preparations for the 2028 Olympic Games, guiding the allocation of city resources to accommodate up to 15 million visitors. One question is whether the city should pay $30 million for 300 new police cars to patrol the Olympics, as has been requested by the Police Department.

The mayor will also have to make sure the city isn’t on the hook for any cost overruns by the Olympics.

How to get involved

How to keep tabs on the city of L.A.

The City Council meets at 10 a.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Agendas are posted here.

You can view council meetings here.

LAist’s Frank Stoltze, Aaron Schrank and David Wagner contributed to this report.