Democratic socialist Raman elected Los Angeles mayor in upset over Bass

By Daniel Trotta

Nov 5 (Reuters) – Democratic socialist-backed candidate Nithya Raman defeated incumbent Karen Bass in a closely fought race for Los Angeles mayor.

Bass conceded on Thursday to one of the latest among a new wave of fast-rising democratic socialists and progressives who have dethroned centrist politicians in recent elections across the country.  

Raman, a city council member, advocate for the homeless and onetime ally of Bass, stunned the political establishment in the second-largest US city when she challenged the mayor. She is the first Los Angeles mayoral candidate to defeat an incumbent since 2005. The India-born urban planner first won a seat on the Los Angeles City Council in 2020.

Raman has largely embraced comparisons to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was elected a year ago, while rejecting the idea that she is simply a West Coast replica.

“I am different. I am myself,” she told Vanity Fair in an interview.

The issue of homelessness played a major role in the campaign.

About 44,000 people were counted as homeless in 2025 in the city of Los Angeles, including about 27,000 living unsheltered on streets, in vehicles or in encampments, according to the latest annual tally from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Nearly 5,000 are concentrated in the downtown Skid Row district.

In a video statement thanking voters and campaign volunteers, Raman vowed to “build housing that people can afford, parks for our children to play in, a transit system that can get people where they need to go, a city that is safe for its working people and its families.”

She also praised the public service career of Bass, a former six-term member of Congress, nurse and emergency room physician’s assistant. Bass, the first woman elected mayor of Los Angeles, had declared fighting homelessness among her top priorities upon taking office four years ago, but drew criticism for making what many affordable-housing advocates considered to be too little progress.

Bass conceded the race in a written statement, congratulating Raman and promising a smooth transition.

Bass’ standing was undermined by criticism of the city’s response to one of the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in its history, the January 2025 Palisades fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed more than 6,800 structures.

The simultaneous Eaton fire, which tore through the community of Altadena and nearby neighborhoods east of Los Angeles, killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 homes, businesses and other structures.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; editing by Donna Bryson and Chris Reese)