Indian-origin city council woman Nithya Raman has defeated incumbent mayor Karen Bass to win the Los Angeles mayoral race, marking a significant electoral victory in the United States’ second-most populous city.Raman, who was first elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2020, entered the mayoral race in February, challenging Bass, whom she had publicly endorsed just weeks earlier. The contest subsequently evolved into a generational and political battle, with the two candidates offering different approaches to public safety, affordable housing and homelessness.Bass received the backing of much of the city’s political establishment, including the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and the county’s Democratic Party. Raman, meanwhile, secured support from groups that have gained prominence at City Hall in recent years, including the left-wing Democratic Socialists of America and transportation advocacy group Streets For All.The candidates also adopted contrasting campaign strategies in the final days of the race. Bass focused on older voters, visiting senior centres in West Adams and Northridge, where she danced with elderly residents. Raman, on the other hand, campaigned at bars, nightclubs and college campuses, pitching her call for change at City Hall.Bass, a former member of Congress and the California state legislature, secured just 34 per cent of the vote in the June 2 primary, marking a weak showing for an incumbent. Her approval ratings had remained low following the 2025 Palisades fire, which broke out while she was outside the country on a diplomatic mission.During the campaign, Bass highlighted her administration’s record on reducing violent crime, accelerating affordable housing projects and addressing homelessness. Her administration said unsheltered homelessness, referring to people living outdoors and in vehicles, had declined by 11 per cent.Raman, however, criticised Bass’s approach, describing her efforts to tackle homelessness as costly and ineffective. Citing a reduction in homeless encampments in her own Hollywood Hills district, she pledged to halve street homelessness across Los Angeles by the summer of 2028 and eliminate it entirely by the end of her first four-year term.Both candidates received substantial financial support from outside political groups following the June primary.Homelessness, public safety and affordable housing remained key issues for voters. A poll conducted by Berkeley IGS and the Los Angeles Times between October 19 and 25 found that around 40 per cent of likely voters considered reducing homeless encampments a top priority for the incoming mayor. About 30 per cent identified public safety and the construction of more affordable housing as major concerns.Addressing supporters at her election night gathering at the Greek Theatre plaza on Tuesday, Raman stopped short of declaring victory and urged the crowd to remain cautious.“I’m hopeful. I’m very hopeful,” Raman told the cheering supporters. “I’m also really superstitious. So we’re all just going to be cool, OK? Very cool.”Who is Nithya Raman?Born in Kerala in 1981, Raman moved to the United States when she was six and became a US citizen at the age of 22.She completed her undergraduate studies at Harvard University before earning a master’s degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).Before entering electoral politics, Raman founded Transparent Chennai, an urban research organisation focused on improving sanitation and civic amenities.After moving to Los Angeles in 2013, she worked with the city’s municipal administrative officer, helped establish the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition and served as executive director of Time’s Up Entertainment.Her projected lead over Bass marks a significant development in the race to lead Los Angeles, with the final outcome still dependent on the completion of vote counting.
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