Raman unseats Bass in Los Angeles mayor race
Nithya Raman, a Los Angeles City Council member for the Fourth District, has defeated incumbent Mayor Karen Bass to become the city's next mayor. With about three-quarters of ballots counted, Raman held roughly 52 per cent of the vote to Bass's 48 per cent, a margin of about 35,000 votes out of 824,000 counted. Bass conceded by phone on Thursday. Raman, 45, a Democratic socialist backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, will be the city's first mayor of Asian descent and the first challenger to unseat an incumbent since 2005.
Key facts
- Raman was born in Kerala, India, in 1981 and moved to the United States at age six.
- A Berkeley IGS and Los Angeles Times poll from 19 to 25 October found about 40 per cent of likely voters prioritised reducing homeless encampments.
- About 30 per cent of voters prioritised improving public safety or building more affordable housing.
- Nearly 5,000 homeless people are concentrated in the downtown Skid Row district.
- Raman was first elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2020 and was its first DSA-affiliated member.
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Why it matters
The result shifts control of Los Angeles City Hall, where homelessness is a leading concern for voters.
What changed
First published from Hindustan Times, The National, The Guardian, El País English and South China Morning Post