A graphic of Nithya Raman after her win (Rheya Bushan / The Puma Prensa)
By Rheya Bushan, Senior Opinion Editor
While the midterm elections have been sweeping everybody’s attention, in Los Angeles a new mayor has been elected. Democratic socialist Nithya Raman has defeated incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the 2026 Los Angeles mayoral race, pulling off a stunning political upset in the nation’s second-largest city. Bass conceded the election on Thursday, November 5, 2026, after progressive mail-in ballots cemented Raman’s victory.
This is a historic milestone for the city, as Raman is the first Asian-American Mayor-elect in Los Angeles.
Karen Bass faced intense political backlash following her handling of the 2025 L.A. wildfires, which killed dozens of people. Her absence during the emergency heavily damaged her approval ratings and the public’s trust.
Due to the public unrest from the situation, Raman was able to tap into widespread voter frustration regarding the city's quality of life, housing costs, and homelessness crisis, successfully framing herself as an outsider fighting a broken establishment—appealing to the common man (New York Times).
Despite top Democratic heavyweights (including Governor Gavin Newsom and former VP Kamala Harris) backing Bass, Raman’s campaign leaned into a massive progressive and youth-led grassroots volunteer network to drive voter turnout.
Raman’s victory is even more striking because she won with virtually no support from her City Hall colleagues. Even the three other Democratic socialists on the 15-member L.A. City Council broke ranks to endorse Bass during the campaign, citing difficulties working with Raman. However, she will have a close ally in City Controller Kenneth Mejia, who was the lone citywide official to back her campaign (Los Angeles Times).
As she prepares to take office, Raman has promised a major departure from the status quo on several key issues:
Homelessness is one of the biggest concerns in Los Angeles, and Raman plans to allow Controller Mejia to audit all city homelessness spending. She favors long-term rental vouchers over expensive hotel/motel room placements and aims to cut homelessness in half by 2028.
Raman has also committed to replacing the LAPD police chief and moving the city toward left-leaning public safety and street forms. She will also immediately inherit the responsibility of preparing the city to host major global events, including the 2027 Super Bowl and the 2028 Summer Olympics.
With Raman’s victory, America’s two largest cities are now led by Democratic socialists, following the election of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and for people who voted for her, the future looks a little brighter.